Cold Heat
by ShunKazamis-Girl
Summary: One moment, you found yourself at the brink of death, and then the next thing you knew, someone saved you and you ended up in a hospital. Between healing wounds, embracing winter, and receiving visits from your savior, you started to wonder who he REALLY was... ReaderXJack Frost. REUPLOADED.
1. Bloody Snow

"_Woo_-_hoo_~! _Snow day_! _Yeahhh_~!"

_Snow was flying around in the dark night sky_, _covering everything in white with bits of pale browns_, _greens_, _grays_, _and blues_. _They danced_, _they twirled_, _and they fell down like rain as tiny white dots as they landed. Ice_, _icicles_, _and frost also grew_, _clinging onto whatever surface they could find without fail. The air turned icy and it suddenly felt cold. The Arctic air whistled into wind and the snow increased minute by minute_, _covering everything in sight._

_Jack Frost arrived in the scene_, _looking very pleased with his latest work_; _a winter wonderland full of fluffy white snow and glistening frost, just the way he liked it. He cannot wait for the next day_, _to see everyone else_'_s faces as they found the woodlands and streets covered in pure_, _beautiful snow. He also can_'_t wait for snowball fights to happen and he really wanted to participate in them_, _as well as other fun winter activities to take place._

_Before taking off to give snow to other places_, _he decided to take a walk as he admired the frost_-_tinged trees and the varying icicles decorating their branches. Stopping by to rest_, _he sat down under a tree not far from a lake somewhere_. _Full of thoughts and nostalgia_, _he absentmindedly touched the tree_'_s trunk. Swirls and waves of frost appeared in their wake as he fingered the tree_'_s rough bark. It was like that for a while_, _until he rose up from his current sitting position and left._

_When he came back_, _however_, _he discovered something strange. There were footprints barely imprinted on the snow_, _not made by those wearing shoes_. _Someone must_'_ve been barefoot_, _for he only saw faint lines and little pressure on the outlines. There were also tattered rags with loose threads scattered on its path. But the one thing that attracted his attention the most was that wherever the footprints and the rags led_, _the snow turned red._

_That_'_s right_; _bloody red snow. Not white_, _not gray_, _not brown_, _not even yellow. It was red. But it wasn_'_t a dark blackish_-_red he was used to_, _but a hot bright red instead_...

_He stuck his finger on the odd_-_coloured snow and sniffed at it. It smelled weird_, _with salty_, _metallic_, _and overpowering notes. He made a face at the odd scent_; _it was real blood after all_!

"_But where does it lead to_?" _He asked himself as he eyed the path. It seemed to be heading to somewhere around this place_… _Curiosity got the best of him_, _for he followed the trail of blood and rags._

_Even by using his form of travelling around_, _it took him longer than it should_'_ve been. There were a few dead_-_ends whenever he went_, _only to find that the bloody trail turned to a different direction. Nevertheless_, _he kept on moving_, _never stopping to ignore it. The path seemed to take forever, twisting and turning around.._

_Eventually for him_, _the path ended. His eyes grew wide at the sight he just saw at the end of the trail_; _someone_ _was s__itting on the snow._

_And the eyes were firmly fixed at the frost_-_covered tree_...


	2. Near-Death Experiences

All you could do was to stare.

Yes, you knew that staring can be rude if you do it for too long. But the thing was, you were not staring at someone; no, you were really staring at some_thing_.

There were strange patterns decorating the trunk of the tree you were leaning on. White ferns and pale blue waves were intertwining with the trunk's body, as if they were caressing it. Delicate feathers sparkled at the edge and smaller leaves were curling up. You could even see tiny flowers and shards of crystal if you squinted harder.

The patterns didn't seem to be painted, nor stenciled with spray-paint. But no pencil crayon or chalk manufactured in the world do create such a thing, either. Maybe someone used snow or ice? That seemed impossible… but the way it glinted made it clear that the pattern was made by using these materials. Peering closer, you noticed that frost was its medium. You wished to touch it, but cannot do so; there was a chance that it would end up melting in your touch.

Whoever made them must be an artist-

It suddenly felt colder than usual and you shivered in your tattered clothing. It didn't help that your exposed skin attracted the cold. The pain in your body didn't hurt so much anymore, but resulted in a strange numbness instead. The remaining cuts stopped running blood temporarily and it dried with a white substance you cannot identify. Snow slowly sprinkled over you and the air turned visible every time you tried to exhale breath.

You coughed a few times, finding it harder to breathe in the extremities of the icy weather. A sneeze even found a way out of your system. It felt too painful to speak, let alone inhaling air. Despite this, you tried to move. You shook off the bits of snow away from your clothes and hair before wobbling your way from the tree. Your legs struggled to keep you upright as you tried to walk. It seemed impossible now, walking, but you were too stubborn to give up at the moment. The pain started to come back to pierce your body parts even as you tried to ignore it, which was hard.

You didn't exactly see where you ended up walking to, but you _did _find yourself standing in front of an immense frozen lake. The surface was a whitish blue and it felt a little slippery (maybe it was because of the fact that you didn't have shoes on). Frostbitten plants and stones lined the edges while bits of snow were clinging on the ice sheet.

The pain started to disappear again as you stood still, which was good. Deciding to try to breathe again, you exhaled a bit of air, making it look like mist in the cold air before it was gone. There was no pain from that right now, either. Looking up, you saw the big moon. Like the snow, it was clear and white. So clear, in fact, that you might end up seeing every detail on the surface, craters and all. You found it interesting; you'd never thought that you would actually see the moon up close-

_CRACK_….!

_What the_- The next thing you knew, the ice looked like a broken mirror; the ice sheet started to break. Water started to splash around as violent waves and-

_You got sucked into the lake._

You were startled, uncertain of what was happening. As the ice broke, it got sharp enough to tear more cuts on your body, face, feet, and your ruined clothing like shards of glass. All of a sudden, you found yourself underwater. You tried to hold your breath, but at that moment, you realized something…

The water was cold. Not just cold, but it was _freezing._

It burned like liquid fire, making it unbearable as you tried to swim your way out (but failed miserably). The pain returned, but it felt worse than last time. The cuts from earlier leaked a few drops of blood and the clothes did nothing but to give extra weight to hold you down. The rest of the lake's surface was still frozen, sealing the gap and attempting to keep you trapped. So you tried to give it a few upward kicks and uppercuts. But it was no good; the ice was too hard.

As you tried to get out, you kept yelling for help, despite that you knew nobody would hear you. Or even to _see_ you. Still, you kept shouting as much as your voice would make, but the icy water made you mute as it flowed into your throat, making you gag. Because of that, you coughed harder, causing an aching feeling inside your body. More water flooded into your chest and a few bubbles streamed out as it released those words,

"HELP ME!... Let me out!… Help me, please, somebody… help me….."

Losing strength, you released a few tears. Then you became unconscious and your body went limp…

* * *

"_Where_'_s she going now_?" _He found himself asking_; _he found you staring at the frost patterns he created but then suddenly walked away before he could do anything._

_From what he saw so far_, _you were covered in blood_, _with too many gashes_, _cuts_, _and bruises to count. Your hair looked unkempt and messy while your clothes did very little to cover up your body_, _close to dissolving away as it exposed partly battered skin. He wondered what made you so worn_-_out like that._

_Following freshly_-_made footprints from where you left off _(_with less blood and rags this time_), _he tried to find the path you were taking but found it surprisingly confusing as he went around in circles and kept crashing into the trees…_

_Then he heard the sound of ice breaking._

_Dread suddenly rushed into him and he immediately found the sound coming from the nearby lake. It reminded him too much of that very day…_

"_HELP ME_!... _Let me out_!… _Help me_, _please_, _somebody_… _help me_….."

_A voice was cutting off his thinking_, _as well as forceful banging from a few moments back. He scanned around the lake_, _wondering where was it coming from. And then it hit him_: _YOU WERE DROWNING IN THE LAKE_!

_But what should he do_? _He was in difficulty of choosing to either save you or to leave you behind to die. I mean_, _it wasn_'_t his fault that the ice he created wasn_'_t thick enough but still… he gotta do something._

_Taking a nervous breath_, _he made a hole in the ice before going down…_

* * *

It was… dark. It was also… cold. It was- you mentally struggled as an unbearable pain, this one feeling completely different, poisoned everything in your body. You wanted to scream at this sudden occurance but you can't. You weren't sure where it came from-

Before you could think of anything else, you felt yourself rising up and being exposed into the surface….

* * *

"..That's weird; she lost a lot of blood yet she still _lives_….."

...Live?

You opened your eyes all of a sudden in shock and amazement; _you were alive_! But… how?

You were not stuck inside the abyss of the icy water anymore. Instead, you were back at the place where you found the frost-like pattern. You were lying on the ground, with some kind of a brown cloak (or was it a cape?) underneath for protection against the snow-covered earth. Your body felt numb again, temporarily ignorant of the cold and pain, and a few white dots were sticking onto your now-soaked clothing. Attempting to rise up to figure out what happened, something hit you;

_You were not alone._

A teenaged boy, about your age, was right in front of you. He was looking right into your eyes in a mix of shock and curiosity.

Now that you were awake, you stared with full attention at every single detail; the boy had short silvery-white hair, strands reflecting like icicles. His skin was smooth and white, fair as marble, and his eyes were a bright pure blue with slightly dark undertones in the tear-ducts and eyelids. He wore a cerulean hoodie woven with hints of unusual frost-like patterns that flashed depending on the perspective. He also had dark brown pants that resembled skinny jeans or sweatpants. Leather cords decorated the legs and the hems were ripped, dusted with a powdery blue frost. Despite the looseness of the hoodie, it somehow fitted with his slender body. The longer you paid attention to him, the faster the snowflakes around him danced-

"You're done staring at me yet?"

Startled at the sudden command of his voice (which sounded deep and alluring… yet with some playful and mischievous tones to it), you blinked in surprise. You nodded quickly.

"Can you… see me?"

Why would he ask that kind of question, you don't know, but you nodded again; maybe he wanted to make sure you could see everything clearly?

He blinked in surprise, as if your response was unexpected, but then cleared his throat and said, "By the way, what's your name?"

"[_Name_]… *cough, cough* My name is- My name is [_Name_]…." Was all you could say.

"You're lost, right?" Another nod confirmed this question. He stood up. "Ok, just follow me then."

You were still at first, trying to stop coughing. But then his words got into your brain and you scrambled to your feet. Quickly standing up with a struggling attempt, you draped the cloak around your body for warmth before wobbling off after him.

You kept wincing as pain paralyzed your legs from the thigh down to the ankles. You knew that they were this bad before but not like this…

You and the teenage boy were now out of the woods and into the streets somewhere. A few streetlamps were dimly lit, orange-yellow lights illuminating the darkness. The roads were shoveled and so were the sidewalks. It felt weird, walking on concrete with bare feet. But then again, you've probably walked on worse.

More blood started to flow out of your body and now you found yourself growing dizzy, tired, and lightheaded. Trying to calm yourself, you tried to breathe, resulting in a storm of harsh coughing and fast-paced sneezing.

He frowned. "You're sick, [_Name_]."

"I- *cough* I'm- *cough, cough* I'm fine! I'm not- *cough, cough* sick!" You tried to protest. And then it happened. "_Oh no__…_"

The coughs grew more frequent and violent while sneezes started to increase. The air felt poisonous in your lungs and the cuts from the sharp ice leaked more blood as you moved. Your body felt weaker and weaker, wobbling as you tried to stand up properly and ice formed on your faded clothes as leftover water from the lake froze. Jack looked concerned at this sight yet you didn't want him to worry. Opening your mouth to retort again, the last thing you remembered was closing your eyes and losing your balance. You also felt arms holding you in a tight embrace and setting you down on the sidewalk.

Somewhere at the other side of the street, a white truck with red lights immediately pulled its brakes.


	3. The Hospital

Your eyelids felt too swollen and heavy to be forced to see with your eyes open. But you did hear sounds of sirens, people talking, the radio blaring, and the cacophony of passing cars. So where were you right now? Inside a police car? An ambulance? You were too tired to find out….

* * *

You woke up again, now finding yourself under a sharp, bright light. You squinted despite the harsh glare. Were you in heaven? Or was this hell? Then you heard voices. Strange voices… and now the light were blocked by people, mostly men, wearing white coats and dull green uniforms. Were they… doctors? Surgeons? Scientists? Aliens from outer space? This place also smelled funny, with wafts of salty, germy, and metallic smells that made you feel sick to your stomach.

You managed to have enough energy to tilt your head and widened your eyes at what you saw; scary-looking machines with buttons and switches everywhere, resembling evil robots. Wires, tubes, and tapes were on your face and arms as well as some kind of thin plastic tube with holes under your nose. Needles and other unusual equipment were in trays, covered in blood. But the machine with the two clear bags (which you later recognized as an IV) made you freak out the most; one bag had clear liquid, which didn't look too bad, but the other bag contained something red.. It was blood. Perhaps _your_ blood.

Realizing what was going on, you screamed, "WHERE AM I? WHY AM I HERE? GET ME OUT OF HERE! I DON'T WANNA DIE~!" as you thrashed around like a fish or a prisoner from an insane asylum. Voices tried to calm you down, but you did nothing but to cry out loud, raspy screams as you panicked. Your chest was still hurting and yet again, it felt hard to breathe. The machines swayed in your movement, but you didn't notice. Tears started to pour in your wake, even as you tried to resist.

"[_Name_]! Stop screaming! They're just trying to help you!" A concerned voice rang out, trying to soothe you. It stood out the most compared to the voices of the doctors, which are all sounded slurred. Confused, you tried to find the voice that you couldn't completely make out.

"Wait- what…?" You squeaked.

"Shh… that's right. Just relax.. The doctors over there wanna help you, not hurt you." Said the voice, which sounded more realistic now. For a moment there, you felt something.. cold. But not painfully cold, it's more of a pleasant cold; the kind you would feel from lying down on soft snow. Despite your uncertainty of the voice's statement, you managed to stop fighting against your surroundings and settled for lying down instead as you let the cold touch wash over you. The doctors sighed in huge relief.

"That's better! Go back to sleep if you don't want it to hurt."

"But I-"

"Don't worry; I'm right here. I won't leave for a few minutes….. I won't leave until you're awake."

Suddenly, you felt a wave of tranquility pass by you, forcing your eyes to flutter for a second before slowly closing…

But before you ended falling asleep, you saw the same silvery white hair and blue eyes… _that guy again._

* * *

"I'm telling you! There's no way she could've lost that much blood in a short amount of time…"

"Well, at least she ain't dead!"

"Even so, I still don't know how much damage was there…"

The doctors were discussing something very important; you could tell from the grave tone of their voices. You wondered if they meant you or not…

* * *

After waking up some time later, you were still in the same room. The one with the sickening machines. At least there were no people right now. Looking down, you saw that your body was covered by a grayish-blue blanket and you didn't wear those ruined clothes from last time; maybe someone must've changed you into something different instead. You ended up wearing what looked like a white hospital gown with tiny blue spots and a thin paper bracelet on your right wrist. Instead of cuts and gashes, there were thin lines decorating your skin. The bruises were still there and the surrounding areas were red. It was still dark in the room, except for the light hanging overhead.

"Oh! You woke up!" The voice came again, making a soft laugh this time. It sounded like silvery bells. "And just when I thought you would lie there forever."

Blinking many times in surprise, you cannot believe it; he was standing right there! That savior! You tried to say something but your throat felt dry and you were too afraid to end up unconscious again.

"Where-" As you started, a sequence of coughs interrupted your voice.

With a worried face, the white-haired teenager frantically searched around the semi-dark room, looking for something. He finally found a small paper cup full of water and in a swift move, made you drink the cool liquid.

The water was so refreshing that you stopped coughing as you sipped. After swallowing, you managed to say, "Thanks… but where am I?"

"Isn't it obvious? You're in a hospital." He said, rolling his eyes while crossing his arms against his chest.

"The… *cough* hospital?"

He explained. "You passed out while we were walking. Then an ambulance came and took you to this place. And just when I was about to wake you up again… then you had to have stitches and stuff..." He bit his lip as he said that last sentence.

"_Stitches.. so those are what those lines are_!" You realized. But then, you felt a pang somewhere and it left you with something sickening. If you weren't condemned in sickness and pain so much, then this wouldn't have happened..

"I'm sorry," You tried to apologize. "I didn't-" You had to swallow to prevent an unexpected cough coming up. "I didn't mean to make you worry."

His blue eyes widened in surprise. He scoffed. "Me? Worried? What makes think that I would be worried?"

You struggled to figure out what you were meaning to say. Your mind felt jumbled and… confused. Like a jigsaw puzzle with too many pieces that were hard to connect. After a moment of finding the right words, you said, "I was.. I was in your way. If you didn't… save me, then-". A hot feeling rushed into your face and you felt like crying.

It took him a while to put the two together and when he did, he immediately went over to your side. "Hey, hey, hey! It's ok!" He said in the most soothing voice he could manage. "It's not your fault."

Noticing that you didn't fully calm down yet, he gently stroked your arm for comfort. He added in, "If I didn't rescue you, you wouldn't get to see a guy cute as me, right~?" Now sounding a little mischievous, he tickled you under the arm and that made you giggle. Enjoying your reactions, he went further to lightly tickle your sides and stomach. As a result, you cannot help but to laugh as you squirmed and twisted. Somehow, it felt good to not think about the pain for once.

But then the fun was cut short when piercing beeps filled the room. Startled, you wondered if those noises came from a machine somewhere. They sounded terrifying and you hoped that they wouldn't wake up anybody in here.

The boy immediately stopped his actions. "Ah, I.. sorry that I can't stay too long. Besides, you're going to have a blood transfusion tomorrow and I won't be in here."

At the words 'blood transfusion', you felt yourself growing pale. "A blood transfusion? *cough* What's a blood transfusion?"

Answering that question must be awkward to him, for you saw him sweatdropping as he tried to figure out how to define it properly. Maybe he also found the thought of a blood transfusion disturbing?

"Ok, how should I explain this..? A blood transfusion is like receiving new blood so that you'll live." Catching your confused look, he put in, "You lost a lot of blood when I found you; if you're losing it, you'll die."

You shivered and started to hide your face under the covers. "That sounds- *cough, cough* scary… does it hurt?"

Sighing, all he could say was, "I don't know. You're likely to sleep through it, though."

"Oh, ok." There was a minute of silence, with no beeps or any other noise interfering.

"You will.. come back to visit? To check on me, *cough* I mean?" You suddenly asked the teen. He looked at you with hesitance. At first, you thought that your question was too much for him to answer, but then again, you presumed, he was probably just thinking it over.

"Yes, [_Name_], I'll come back." He announced before finishing it with an, "I promise.". Taking your hand and momentarily holding it, he said, "Now just try to get better, ok?". With confirmation, you nodded weakly.

As he turned to leave, however, you immediately grabbed his wrist, stopping him for a second. It felt icy to your touch. "You know, *cough* you never told me *cough* your name.."

There was that brief moment of silence again. At the very least, until he spoke again, "My name's Jack. Jack Frost."

You watched him walk away from your side and into the darkness, the cool feeling leaving your fingers. Even in the fading light, you could still see. You squinted in that light to find something odd;

_He wore no shoes. None at all._


	4. The Blood Transfusion

"…_.What have I gotten myself into_?"

_Jack walked out of the room_, _navigating his way out of the hospital. He stopped by_, _however_, _to take a peek at the other patients housed in there. Visiting the seperate wards they were all in_, _he learned that they a__ll seem to be in a pretty bad state_, _as their conditions ranged from broken bones to cancer_, _from conditions involving surgery to rare illnesses and diseases…. and everything in between. He felt sorry for all of them._

_While their problems were considered as typical _(_at least in his own standards_), _yours wasn_'_t._

_But you in his way_? _Never_!

….. "_Ok_, _ok_," _He admitted to himself. _"_Sure_, _I ended up a little distracted from bringing snow to the world. So what_?"

_The point was_, _to be honest_, _that he was actually WORRIED_.

_Worried that you_'_ll end up dying the way… the way he almost did. But in actual_ _death. No resurrection_, _no immortality_, _no one to help you_, _no one to heal your wounds_, _NOTHING. __And because of that_, _he ended up pulled away from his fun only to find himself in a state of angst_, _concern_, _and sadness._

_So in this case_, _you were KINDA in his way…_

_It wasn_'_t your fault_, _though. Nor his_, _nor the Man in the Moon_, _nor the other guardians… and obviously_, _Pitch wasn_'_t involved_ (_I mean_, _he defeated that guy_!).

_No_, _it was more of an accident._

_Sighing_, _Jack decided to go to Seoul_, _South Korea and Paris_, _France once he_'_s out of this place. Besides_, _those cities were expecting a snow day anytime now and maybe exploring around the Eiffel Tower and the Gyeongbokgung Palace would take his mind off things for the day…_

"_Oh wait…._" _He reminded himself. _"_Maybe I should also check on _[_Name_] _during the blood transfusion later…_"

_Finally discovering the exit_, _he stepped out of the isolated hospital and into the wintery_-_white world._

* * *

"_Scared__…__ Too scared_….." You mentally cried as the blood transfusion took place the next day. Doctors and nurses were busier than ever and blood samples were all over the place. Another person was there but it was too dark (other than the light from overhead) to see who it was. You even saw something slimy and bloody on the floor… Gross! Were those sawed-out entrails? You couldn't tell…

"Shh… I told you; it will be fine. They just want to help…." You heard a voice say; it sounded like Jack's but.. more distant. It must've sensed what you were thinking.

"_But how_?" You had to ask yourself as a machine with a set of plastic tubes stepped forward, followed by the IV. "_How could I get over this… this blood transfusion_? _I_'_m scared_!"

The question became not-so-rhetorical now, for you felt something slightly cold making its way through the covers and gripping your left hand.

"I'm here… it's just too dark to see right now, ok? I'll just hold your hand for a bit. Just go to sleep, now…. you probably won't feel a thing."

Feeling safe now, you had managed to relax and to close your eyes…

* * *

A red substance was flowing out of its plastic prison and making its escape into your fading body. After the doctors and nurses managed to find your blood type (from your own blood in which you drew out), they selected the correct blood type of another healthier person and proceeded with the operation.

* * *

It felt… weird. It felt like something was squeezed out and injected into your body. But it probably wasn't your blood, but someone else's…

* * *

"Is the girl… contagious?" A nervous nurse tried to ask despite that she was tired from the day's events.

"It doesn't look like it, no. Her injuries weren't infected either." Another huge sigh of relief was released as a doctor announced your status; that had been the second time they sighed like that for this week. After discovering what the people in the passing ambulance found in the streets, they never saw anything like this. Someone who lost a lot of blood, got so many cuts and bruises, drowned, almost suffering from hypothermia and frostbite, and then all of a sudden, fainted.

Ok, _maybe_ they had seen something like that already, but it had been weeks or even months since the last time something this disturbing happened.

"What about her mental state?" Another nurse, this time an older one, questioned this time.

"…..We will deal with that later." The lead doctor confirmed after careful observation and thinking. "In the meantime, send her to the Children's Ward."

* * *

The hospital room you now transferred to (also known as "The Children's Ward") the next day was completely different from earlier. The room didn't look imposing, either. Instead, there were more comfortable beds leaning against the pale blue and white walls and there were fewer machines. Shelves of books and magazines were nearby as well as a few toys. Drawers were nearby at each bed and from where you ended up and there was a big window nearby where you could see the surroundings outside the hospital.

Others were there, but since it was nighttime, they were all sleeping soundly. You, however, stayed awake, since you were not tired (even though you _do _feel a little sleepy). Even if the place was seemingly innocent, you were still afraid.


	5. The Children's Ward

Sometime later the next morning, you were informed of why you ended up in the new room.

After what had happened over the last few days (how long you were in there so far?), the doctors in the hospital confirmed that despite the pain you received after finding you, you were not contagious with disease. Believing that you would be more comfortable with other patients like you, they placed you into this room.

But… how were you supposed to get along with the patients there?

* * *

"Wee~! This is fun!"

"OMG! That top is like, totally cute! Where can I find it?"

"Hahaha, yeah…"

You observed the scene around you. The other patients were either playing with the toys or reading magazines together. However, being really shy, you did nothing but to watch.

You learned that there were five other people in the ward (three boys and two girls). There was Eon, a sweet and adorable six-year-old, Lucio (short for Lucius), a mild ten-year-old boy, and Ivanko, who was fifteen and slightly intimidating (yet not-so-bad personality-wise). The girls were Katiya (short for Katerina), the fourteen-year-old girly-girl, and Sinae (pronounced like 'Shi-nay'), a nineteen-year-old student; she was on her way to Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA for short) for post-secondary education a few months ago when a medical condition delayed her chances of going. You often wondered what caused them to end up in the hospital.. but something kept telling you that you didn't want to know.

Adding yourself, there were now six patients staying at the room in total, which made it three boys and three girls now.

...Was this a good thing or a bad thing?

* * *

It looked like being surrounded by people you didn't know wasn't the only issue here…

Although you were starving (yet can't remember eating anything before the drowning), the food that the nurses served tasted awful. Way too bland. It lacked taste, as if _that_ wasn't important enough to make the patients happy. Maybe it had something to do with nutrition? Whatever the reason, you didn't eat a lot, despite the hunger you contained.

And half the time, you had trouble keeping the food down; you would feel the contents of your stomach hurling everything around like a huge tsunami, causing you to call a nearby doctor or nurse to wheel you down to the bathroom so that you could throw up.

The sight of blood and puke made you feel slightly queasy and the sight of people using bedpans… _yuck._

The medicine you had to take between meals also tasted awful. Most of the time, it was bitter and smelled weird. Even though the nurses kept telling you that medicine was _supposed_ to taste that bad, you didn't listen; you just wanted to get rid of that nasty taste.

…Oh, and the fact that you cannot even _walk._ This sort of situation confused you; you clearly remembered the night when you tried to walk away from the frost-covered tree and ending up in the middle of the frozen lake. It was probably from blood loss earlier, you would remind yourself, or the fact that they felt frozen stiff from the cold. And since you can't walk anymore (at least for now), you had to go around by wheelchair. It felt weird, being pushed around like a baby in its stroller, but you didn't complain. It does feel embarrassing though; everyone else can walk around like they dominated the place while you kept shaking every time you even tried to stand up. And if you _did _walk, you would fall down immediately by the first step.

At one point, doctors would come into the room and 'test you', they would say. They would test you on your thinking skills and what do you sound like whenever you speak. So far, they got, your mind seemed to work a bit properly, despite the lack of further math, more complicated grammar, and delayed tutition. However, they noticed that every time you tried to say a longer sentence, you would cough almost frequently due to either dehydration (which was true) or malfunctioning lungs (you highly doubt it… but it _could _happen). So every day, starting from now, you will be told to drink water every time you eat meals, after taking icky medicine, before going to bed, and after you wake up in the morning. And luckily, water's so thirst-quenching that it made you cough less frequently once in a while…

The last thing you want to mention was that you haven't seen Jack since the night before the blood transfusion. Perhaps he ditched you (no, that can't be it; he promised that he'll come back)? Was he afraid of blood? Or did he had this huge thirst for it, causing him to kill the first living in sight to drink its blood? No, wait… that can't be; if Jack _really _was a vampire (a word you learned from one of the books), he would've had fangs and sucked your blood as you died immediately the night you found the icy patterns and drowned, you had to remind yourself. Besides, he's a human.

…At least, you _thought _he was a human.

Other than that, what happened to him?

* * *

You were still watching the patients and their attempts to keep themselves occupied. They looked bored. You heard them whisper about 'the new girl', which was you, but didn't do anything else in your presence. In fact, they started to back away from you with extreme caution.

Good. And you wanted to keep it that way today.


	6. The Visit

Time can pass by very slowly here, you learned. The hands of the black-rimmed clock on the wall moved slowly and there seemed to be little activity. Right now, all of the other patients were either reading quietly or drawing pictures.

You looked at the window to see what was out there. There were lots of snow and the skies were a grayish white. But everything looked empty and it felt so… lonely. The only occupants of the scene in front of you were a couple spruce trees from farther away as well as a skeletal sugar maple tree. At first glance, you almost expected… more. You weren't completely sure of what you expected, but you didn't expect the open space beyond the hospital to look like this. No, part of you desired for something else.

Yet you cannot figure out what it was.

* * *

"So that's where you went! I got lost trying to find you."

Toying around with the sheets covering your body, you found Jack at the door as he made his way without waking anybody. The others were probably heavy-sleepers because from the looks of it, they didn't hear him coming in.

Nodding, you replied. "The doctors- *cough* The.. doc- *cough* They moved me here." You removed your legs out of the covers to let them dangle on the side of the bed before continuing with, "It's so nice to see you again."

He was surprised at this statement, for he said, "Well, I- it's just a quick visit, right?". He looked as if he was going to flush (if that was possible, you mean).

You knew that, but still, having Jack here was something you found it to be- unfortunately, an invasion of coughs prevented you to think any further. You had to cover your mouth to muffle them into silence.

Jack started to grow concerned once again. "A-Ah, are you ok…?" You nodded weakly. He handed you the cup of water again. There was still some left so it should keep your throat refreshed for at least one minute. "Finish this."

Obediently, you drank the thirst-quenching liquid. The coolness of it felt nice and the coughs started to go away. "Much better." You said.

Nodding, he relaxed his arms on the metal bars on your bed as leaned on the other side. "You keep coughing a lot every time you speak." He stated. "How come?"

You wanted to say 'Because my lungs aren't working?', but you held back; none of the doctors or nurses knew why you were coughing a lot every time you spoke. It may have been from dehydration, or maybe your lungs were badly damaged before you drowned. Even you weren't sure, so instead, you shrugged and said, "I don't know."

He frowned. "Your conditions aren't normal, I think."

"Nor-mal…?"

"You probably suffered differently than most patients."

"Oh…" You and Jack didn't do much, except to sit down and gaze into each other. You had to admit it, it was hard not to drown into his glacial blue eyes…

"Jack?" You suddenly asked. "Can I ask you something?"

He shifted around uncomfortably. "Um… ok, sure. What is it?"

You fiddled around with your too-big polka-dotted hospital gown in order to discover the right words. After careful thinking, you said, "How did…. How did you know that I was drowning in the lake that night? Did.. you see me there?"

He said nothing at first, but to stare at the moon shining overhead from the window. It looked smaller than you last saw it, not to mention that it was blanketed by the approaching dark clouds. He was probably occupied with his thoughts, for he still said nothing. So to get his attention, you tugged on the hem of his blue hoodie.

"Are you ok…?"

"Huh? I-I'm fine! I was just occupied here, hehehe…." He sweatdropped as he said that. Noticing that he didn't answer your question, he cleared his throat before saying, "I heard the ice breaking. And the sound of you calling for help..."

"You.. heard me?"

"Yeah. Of course I did."

You cannot believe it; all this time, you thought that no one could hear you underwater. What was more shocking, however, was the fact that he actually found you, of all people, in the brink of death. And you thought that no one would notice…

A yawn popped out of your lips; a tired feeling washed over you and it felt like you can't stay up longer to talk to him.

Jack must've heard your yawn, for he asked you one phrase, "Tired?"

You didn't answer, but yawned again in response. Your eyes attempted to stay awake as they blinked furiously...

Jack laughed softly. "I guess I take this as a yes then." He gently placed your head down on the pillow and with cold yet gentle fingers, he stroked your hair. You also felt something icy on the tip of your nose, the earlobes on both ears, and your toes… but as soon as you snuggled closer, the strange feeling went away.

His actions must've started to soothe you to sleep, for you felt tranquil and content in his side. Tentatively, you reached over to finger the fabric of the hoodie he was wearing and the frost-like patterns intertwining and cradling the edges. "Your hoodie's soft. And warm… you must like wearing it." You murmured.

You heard him laugh again. "Yeah, I know; it _is _pretty comfortable." After noticing your sleepy state, he smiled, revealing pure-white teeth, and lowering his face closer, kissed your forehead. Even his lips had a slight chill to it when in contact with your bandaged skin; they felt firm as an ice cube but soft as freshly-fallen snow…

"I have to go now but I'll just come back, ok? Just go to sleep and behave yourself tomorrow.."

Listening attentively, you nodded as you kept your word. And without anything else to say, he left. At that very moment, you let yourself comforted into sleep, the pain temporarily fleeing away.


	7. Nothing But My Name

It was awfully quiet today in the Children's Ward; all of the doctors and nurses were too busy with what they call 'the patients in worse conditions' (basically those who were _not _from the Children's Ward) and even the other patients lost their will to keep themselves occupied for the day. The silence was somewhat painful. An empty space inside a shell. You wanted to break it but cannot do so; how could you? At one point after going to the bathroom via wheelchair, you tried to speak to Ivanko, who was staring blankly at the window, but then decided against it as you made a fist moments before making contact.

There was no point of breaking the silence itself, wasn't there?

* * *

Fresh snow fell down at 4:00 PM, icicles grew longer from the roof, and new frost formed on the window's glass. Sinae, Lucio, Katiya, Eon, and Ivanko all gathered around to draw pictures on the fog as they watched snowflakes falling down, dancing their deliberate dance with grace. You also saw them, but only from your bed. Besides, you couldn't walk thanks to the pain…

"C'mon! Don't you wanna see the snow?" The girly-girl, Katiya, asked in your direction. You were startled at first; not many people noticed your presence or even spoke much to you.

But all you did was to shake your head in refusal.

Shrugging, Katiya went back to the window's view, as if to say 'Whatever. Just forget it.'

* * *

As promised, Jack visited again that night. You were amazed that no one ever saw or heard him coming in. How he pulled it off, you often wondered, was something unanswered. Naturally, you assumed that it had something to do with his bare feet.

"Hey," He plopped down onto the bed and stretched. "How's things doing?"

Searching for honest words, you replied with, "It is not much. Everyone was… They were…."

"Bored?" You nodded at his guess, indicating that he got it right. "Yeah, you're right; it can be pretty boring here. But I guess that's what you get for being in a bad shape."

You didn't say much, but you did keep your eyes focused at the snowy land outside the hospital grounds. The pure white snow made everything so clean, so fresh, and so… so irresistible. However, something about the white-washed world made it too intimidating…

However, what caught your attention the most was the fern frost on the window's glass. Like the one you found on the tree near the lake, the frost had swirling waves and fragile ferns on it. This one, however, had small round dots, fluffier-looking feathers, and tiny splashes near the panes. They looked so pretty, so delicate. And if you could peer closer, you could even detect what seem to be a "**JF**" in the tiniest corner on the bottom right. Even if it was different from the first one you saw, you didn't mind the way this one looked right now…

Jack caught your gaze. "What're you looking at, [_Name_]?"

You pointed at the window. "Frost." Was all you said, eyes still fixated at the frost patterns and the winter wonderland out there.

He looked at the direction you were pointing, then at the window. He must've understood what were you talking about, for he said, "It's beautiful, isn't it? That thing you're pointing at is called fern frost, or window frost, as others call it. Unlike normal frost, which covers everything on the ground as moisture gets exposed to the cold, fern frost covers the windows during cold winter days. They make patterns like these."

Wow… fern frost. You found the name of this type of frost interesting. You'd never thought that something simple conquered up by the weather would have beautiful names like this. Fern frost, you realized, was something you described as, in a word you learned, _unique. _Snowflakes were unique, yes, but you'd never thought of frost on the windows to be startlingly unique as well.

As you were occupied in your thoughts, however, Jack sent you back to reality as he said, "[_Name_], I need to ask you something… it's very important."

"Um… ok? What do you want to ask me?" Your curiosity started to increase at his words.

Taking a quick inhale of oxygen, he started to ask you questions that flew out in a flurry, never stopping. "What's your last name? How old are you? Where do you live? Do you know your parents? How did you get hurt like that? What happened back there? Do you remember anything else?"

"I-" The words, all of the sudden, got stuck into your throat. "I... I..." As you tried to see if you could remember anything else before being in the woods and drowning in the lake, you found that your head was hurting very badly and you had the urge to groan very loudly. You placed your hands on your head and started to rock back and forth violently, the metal bed frame beginning to creak. For some time now, you did nothing but to groan and to block out the outside world. You don't know why but it consisted of pain, angst, and.. loss?

"[_Name_]… [_Name_], stop it or you'll wake up everyone else here!" Jack grasped your shoulders, holding you still. Still groaning, it took you a moment to stop doing it and snap out of your mental state in order to look at him. "[_Name_]? Is there something wrong?"

"…" Silence arrived once again. You can't figure out how to explain it to him. In fact, you had very few words to properly say it. You did, however, said the following in a ragged voice,

"_I don_'_t remember anything... Nothing but my name._"


	8. Hugs Prevent the Sadness

_Right now_, _Jack was conflicted at what you just told him. As he sat on the tallest roof of St. Basil_'_s Cathedral_, _watching all of Moscow_, _Russia_, _he replayed your words back in the hospital over and over in his head._

"_She can_'_t…. She can_'_t_ _remember anything_? _Anything at all_?"

_To be honest_, _even though he saw many children and teenagers_, _including the grown_-_ups_, _never in his life had he ever saw them suffering from memory loss during tragic moments. He DID see other terrifying moments between bringing snow to the world_, _but he had never gave much thought about those things_; _to him_, _being around for 300 years and counting didn_'_t always mean anything._

_But anyways_, _he realized that you knew your own name_, _which was good_, _and you knew most of the vocabulary you speak_, _albeit speaking in simple sentence at the moment. Other academic skills like math were something you were not good at_, _but had managed to remember the basics._

_Other than that_, _you don_'_t know anything about your personal life. None at all. No last name_, _no nationality_, _no family_, _no place to live_, _no age_, _NOTHING._

..._But what about childhood memories_?

_Securing that particular question into his mind_, _he decided to fly over to the Tooth Palace. Even as he made his way to his destination_, _the words from last night bothered him a lot._

* * *

"The local police still haven't found any traces of Mr. [_Last Name_] and Mrs. [_Last Name_]'s daughter, [_Full Name _(_First Name and Last Name_)], who disappeared sometime in November. Reports are saying that there's a chance that she would either be missing, kidnapped, or dead already…"

You heard the words the lady from the TV news station said (it was hard to tell which one, but judging from the logo at the corner, it was probably NBC), which slightly increased your attention. Ivanko, Lucio, and Sinae were watching the news as a way to pass time, with blank looks in their faces. There were blurry footages of the parents mourning for the loss and sounds of weeping (obviously, somebody didn't do a good job with the filming that day).

There was also a picture of a girl shown in the TV screen. What you found weird, you realized, was that the girl looked _almost _exactly like you. She also had the same first name. The contours of the face and the hair colour were similar, but the differences were the states of the face and hair, as well as the clothes you wore and the fact that… well, you didn't have a last name. Or so you thought, anyway.

But were you the girl the parents were looking for? Or was it somebody else who was _not_ you?

* * *

"Do I _really _have to take a sponge bath?" You kept questioning the nurses who prepared you today's sponge bath as they tried to force you to take it. "I don't like it."

One of the nurses who bathes the patients, a slender one with curling sandy blond hair and pursed lips, said, "You have to, Missy. You _must_. You don't want to make the place reek with your stench, don't ya?"

You started to bite your lip at this response; even though you weren't completely sure what the word reek meant at first, she must've meant that she doesn't want the Children's Ward to smell bad in your presence if you didn't take a bath. While trying to understand what the nurse said, you tried to determine the reason why you hated taking sponge baths so much.

You hated the way the nurses would bathe you with a limited supply of water while checking for cleanliness as you lied there, naked with nothing to cover yourself. You don't know why but... there must be a reason for hating it, is there?

..But then again, it _does _feel warm and refreshing afterwards. You would smell fragrant and you would feel clean. So despite the humiliation you had to endure, maybe having sponge baths weren't so bad once you get used to it…

"And by the way.."

"Yes?"

The nurse sighed, squeezing excess water out of the sponge, and said to you, "If you behave while havin' your bath… I'll cut your hair and make it all pretty."

Fingering the strands of your now-damp hair, you asked, "My hair..? What's wrong with it?" as you clutched the length for security.

"Didn't ya know? Your hair's all battered and growin' longer, messier, and fuller than it should've been. Also matted with blood, too." She shook her head as she mentioned it. "It'll look and feel nicer with your hair a lil' different."

Combing through your hair, you wondered what it'll be like with a new cut. It would feel nice, not having weight on your head every time you tossed and turned at night, how it would make look less like the victim you once were back there, and maybe how Jack would prefer to see you looking polished and clean, instead of being covered in bloodstains and stitches. In fact, you blushed at that last part you theorized…

Taking a deep breath, you announced with, "Ok. I'll take my sponge bath now." and let the nurse do her duty.

After the process sometime later (which, by the way, the sponge bath wasn't as bad as last time), you were back into your hospital gown and you were now seated on a small stool, with a towel around your neck. Hearing the _snip_-_snip _sounds of scissors, you now closed your eyes and took another deep breath as a few snippets of hair fell down in a speed faster than the snowflakes…

* * *

"Jack… you look tired. Are you ok?"

While Jack was sitting down, you noticed that the dark areas surrounded his eyes looked darker than usual and he was curled up into a ball, his head kept down. He was also muttering words to himself but in a voice you cannot hear. He did say the words "Not really… didn't feel ok." in a muffled voice.

Seeing him in a position like this brought back another pang, this time a sad one. Something about his current state, which looked sad, made you feel the similar way. You wanted… you wanted… "_What DO I want_?" You kept asking yourself, the question left unanswered at first.

Slowly, you scooted over to his side, the weight of your legs heaving you down. With great hesitance, you awkwardly leaned forward and you let your arms reach out at his sides. Without thinking, however, you wrapped your arms around him, allowing yourself to come closer to his back and to squeeze him gently.

He was startled, realizing that you were there right next to him doing.. whatever it was. He flinched at your sudden movement, causing him to say, "[_Name_]? What are you doing?".

"I… I was…." There was a word that you wanted to say, but your mind was too occupied on searching for it. Finally, you said, "I was _hugging_ you. I don't wanna see you- see you…" Another word desired to be spoken of yet not found came into your mind once again. "I don't want you upset." You managed to say as you hugged him some more.

He seemed surprised at your words as well as actions. He was speechless at first, but then realized that you only wanted to comfort him. In fact, an unusual warm feeling inside his body (specifically around the heart area) confirmed it. Letting himself loose, he started to hug you back.

"Thanks, [_Name_], for cheering me up. It's been a while since I let somebody do it…" He said softly in your ear. He stroked your newly-trimmed hair like the way he did it two nights ago and even let himself soothed by the fresh scent of shampoo the nurse used earlier. You were glad; he seemed to feel better thanks to the hug you attempted. Ignoring the hands clutching at you in a tight grip, you allowed giving yourself excess into his arms.


	9. No Teeth Equals No Memories?

_Although you had managed to cheer Jack up with your hug most of the time_, _the thoughts of you with no memories were still plaguing him._

_And the discovery he and the Tooth Fairy found today in the Tooth Palace proved it._

"_Where is it_? _Where is it_?!" _She carefully_, _but frantically_, _dug around trying to find what she was searching for. Many of the jeweled tooth boxes were littered everywhere on the floor_, _taken out from their usual safes. The smaller fairies and mice were curious at this sight but didn_'_t dare to intervene. Jack sighed_, _feeling as if her search will take her forever _(_but then again_, _they POSSESSED forever and a lifetime of immortality_...).

"_Admit it_, _Tooth_; _this idea of searching for _[_Name_]'_s baby teeth probably isn_'_t going to help._" _He started to complain_; _he had asked her if she had any of your teeth so that he_'_ll find your lost memories _(_kind of like the time when he needed to find his_). _But there_'_s a chance that there_'_ll be people with the same name as her and_-

"_Found it_!" _Her voice rang out._

_Jack noticed a tooth box with your face on its side_, _only with different hair_, _clearer face_, _and a shy look indicating flushed cheeks as well as shut eyes similar to an anime character or a Korean emoticon. Nevertheless_, _this must be where your baby teeth should be stored. With slender fingers holding the cylindrical box_, _Tooth opened it as a blinding light with snippets of rainbows illuminated the spot they were in…_

_But nothing was inside. It was totally empty._

_As a result_, _the two Guardians did nothing but to stare in shock._

"_I_... _I don_'_t understand_." _Tooth realized in a hushed voice. _"_Why aren't her teeth in there_? _They should_'_ve been collected_..." _Jack cannot believe it either_; _maybe your baby teeth weren't loose yet_? _It was hard to tell at this rate._

_But does no teeth equal no memories_?

* * *

As of now, Jack wasn't the only one who spotted your problem.

Today, doctors came into the room and asked you many, many questions. When you tried to answer without strain or coughing, all you could answer was 'I don't know.' You did not remember any of those things they questioned. It felt too painful to think about them, too agonizing to even dare to. Every time you said those words, the doctors would frown and whispered out their conversations. However, one of the questions was answered and that was 'What's your name?' When you replied, you only used one sentence;

"I'm [_Name_]."

* * *

"Man, this is terrible!"

"What is? The fact that she ain't healing fast? Or is it because she's an idiot?"

"No! AND STOP SAYING THOSE WORDS FROM YOUR FREAKIN' MOUTH!"

"Ok, ok! Geez…"

"Um… how come [_Name_] can't remember anything when we got her?"

"How should I know?! She was a bloody sight to begin with!"

"Be nice, now. You wouldn't want to be a bad influence to the kids, don't you?"

"…"

"Exactly."

"But still… what do you think this all means?"

"..We- We don't know but for sure, all we know that [_Name_] has-"

Meanwhile back in the Children's Ward, you overheard the conversation of the doctors and nurses outside the room (from the mixed voices interrupting each other's statements, you guessed that all of them were talking). Although the walls were too thick to fully understand what they were talking about, you can pick up bits and pieces of their sentences. However, there was one word that stood out the most… and defined your condition the worst.

_Amnesia._


	10. Amnesia?

In your honesty, you didn't know what amnesia meant. As you tried to guess what was its definition, you assumed that amnesia was another term for… losing your memory? It turned out to be correct, after asking one of the nurses (this one wore her black hair in a ponytail) what the word really meant. Amnesia, the nurse explained, is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage, disease, or psychological trauma (deficit, she added in, meant an excessive amount spent or an amount less than it should've been). In summary, you had a lost a huge amount of memories since the day you found the frost patterns.

There were many different types of amnesia, you learned. According to the nurse, she thought that you might be having retrograde amnesia, as you were able to remember everything after the day you drowned, but never before that particular date. But then again, you would also have more than one kind of memory loss, or that you actually had a mental disorder. None of the doctors knew for sure, but they were sending in your results to psychologists from every part of the world to find out what you might be having.

"…Are they all scared at what I lost?" You questioned to yourself after the nurse left to take care of another patient. Unfortunately for you, what you said became a rhetorical question.

But still, whatever amnesia meant, it sounded terrifying. Maybe it was even scarier than being drowned underwater or suffering from blood loss and physical injuries…

* * *

_Ok_, _now Jack was starting to feel crazy. The paranoid kind of crazy. He started to walk around in circles_, _ruffling his white hair in frustration. His blue eyes were shut and if he had his way_, _he would_'_ve made a frost_-_tinged punch on the first object he found._

_After finding that disappointing discovery earlier with Tooth_, _he tried to ask the other Guardians if they also knew about you in general. Memories_, _encounters_, _requests for gifts_, _ANYTHING._

_But North couldn_'_t find your name in the naughty or nice lists _(_like earlier_, _there would still be people with the same first name as yours_) _due to the overflowing records of past writings and preparations for Christmas_, _Bunnymund didn_'_t recall you looking for Easter eggs_, _and Sandy_, _for some odd reason_, _did not have access to create dreams for you at night_, _as if your mind was sealed with a lock and there was no key. It might as well be the same for nightmares_, _but that was beside the point._

_And all of this trouble was going on just to figure out ONE HUMAN GIRL._

…_Ok_, _that sounded harsh_, _Jack realized._

_But still_, _there was little he could do about it. The rest of the Guardians cannot help out right now either._

_With a sigh_, _he headed off to Riga_, _Latvia in order to allow his creation of snow days to distract him. After making snow fall to there as well as the neighboring cities_, _he was finally able to stay calm for time being by the time he will visit you again._

* * *

"…Are you- *cough, cough* Are you still bothered by the memory loss-thingy?" That was the first question that your mind conquered up in a moment's flight. Jack looked as if he was going to protest about it, but then kept his mouth shut.

"Because- *cough* if you are *cough*, I'm sorry." You tried to reason. "But this isn't my fault; I… *cough* I think I- *cough* was like this for no- *cough, cough, cough* reason." Your throat and lungs felt hurt and dry again, so you quickly drank a cup of water to prevent that.

"…" He still didn't speak; was he angry at you for bringing up this miserable subject? Whatever the reason, he was pretty quiet about it.

After about 5 minutes of silence, he sighed and said, "Look, kiddo, I'm not angry. It did bother me a lot.. but I'm trying to get over it. It's not easy though."

But you were still speechless, affected by the silent treatment he gave you. So he added, "And I don't think you should take the blame. Unless, of course, I threw a snowball at her.." He then pointed at Katiya, who was sleeping very soundly, and finished with a smirk and some sarcasm, " and say that you're the one who hit her so that she'll make you dead."

At the sound of his words, you believed in everything he had just said. Your eyes grew wide as saucers and you hid under the grayish-blue covers, shivering in fear. Can Katiya and the others really be that frightening…?

To your surprise however, there was no snowball thrown at Katiya's sleeping form and neither were the statements of lying. Instead, Jack raised his hands in defence and exclaimed, "Relax! I'm only being sarcastic!" And then to your surprise, he laughed and he clutched his stomach, rolling around in laughter. You didn't find this funny, you discovered, but you _did _think it was unusual. All you did was to look at him with confusion.

After a moment of ravishing into his twisted humor, he sat up and wiped tears from his crystal blue eyes. "Hahaha, sorry. I just found your reaction cute… and funny…."

Ok, now you didn't expect him to say _that_. The only time he would probably think of you in that sense would be if he tickled you in places. To distract yourself from the hot feeling rushing into your face, you said, "I'm just wondering though…"

"Yes?"

"…Can memories come back if I lose them?" You suddenly asked. Although you did not originally plan to ask this peculiar question, you did it anyway. It must've came to you ever since you heard the conversation earlier today.

"Hmm… never thought about it." Jack stood up and walked around absentmindedly. He must be in deep thoughts, for he had a faraway look in his eyes. Then he said, "But since you asked about it, yes. I think memories come back even if you lose them." Then he placed a cold hand on your partly bare shoulder (you almost shivered at his touch) and smiled genuinely. "If you can make it happen, I'll be with you all the way."

Somehow, despite the mixed feelings you faced that night, you smiled in the spite of it. The first real smile that graced your pretty lips.


	11. Together Alone

The hospital would've been an awful place if it wasn't for Jack's visits.

For the next few days or so, your conversations with the pale boy somehow filled your dull life with happiness at night. He mostly did the talking, due to the way you tried to speak between invasions of coughing. Sometimes he would tell you tales of the epic snowball fights he participated in; that was his favourite thing to do in the winter. He would also explain about the folklore and stories from foreign lands and/or from all the way to the late 1600s-1700s. One time, he explained about snow was made and how fern frost, or otherwise known as window frost, was created. The facts didn't sound scientific; the processes were told as if they came straight from storybooks.

Even if the nights were full of nothing but words, you didn't mind; you found that having him by your side made you feel quite content.

* * *

"Do you wear the same thing *cough* every day?" You asked him right out of the blue. A few days had passed quickly and as usual, you and Jack made quiet conversation as the two of watched the snow-covered Earth outside. From what you remembered from the days he visited, he always wore the same outfit; his blue hoodie with the frost-like patterns and brown pants with leather cords around the legs. And of course, he still had no shoes on and his feet, to your surprise, were not dirty from the possible grime on the floor.

He raised an eyebrow, as if to take it as an offence. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"N-N-Nothing!" You tried to deny that you had asked that random question, but his expression prevented you to do it properly. So instead, you said, "I… I noticed that you wear the same- *cough, cough* the same clothes every time you come here… *cough* is it a normal thing?"

Jack was hesitant at answering at first; leaving you to wonder if this sort of question wasn't something you should ask him. Then he replied with, "I like wearing these; that's my favourite outfit."

"Oh." Was the only word you had managed before taking a sip of water.

Then it was his turn to ask a question. "Have you… made any friends here?"

You blinked slowly, your mind attempting to process what he was talking about. In fact, you had almost choked on your water. "Friends?"

"Yeah, you know. People you get along with, play together, stuff like that." He explained as he put an arm around the metal rails on one end of the bed.

Friends… that was the last thing you had ever thought about since finding the frost patterns as well as ending up into the hospital. You recognized the word somewhere, but can't seem to place it properly. When he mentioned the word to you, however… it felt cold. The deadly kind of cold.

"…I don't make friends." You suddenly said in a bitter voice. You were beginning to sound strangely emotionless as a result and Jack grew confused at the unexpected change.

"What did you just say?" He questioned.

Flinching at the sudden metamorphosis that came randomly, you took some time to think it over again before stating, "I like being alone."

"...Then I guess you're more like me, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"I also like to be alone." He just said. He had a hard look in his face and if you could see it, his pale hands also made tight fists. Then after giving some thought, he relaxed as he also added in, "I'm also a hellion; rebellious and a rule-breaker. Everyone's all hard work and deadlines, and I'm snowballs and fun times."

"All the time?" You asked.

"…." Now Jack bit the bottom of his light pink lips at those 3 words. He was probably trying to rephrase what he said, because he corrected himself with, "Most of the time, actually. I've been trying to make new friends, get along with everybody, stuff like that." He shrugged.

"How's that been then?"

"..Ah, well, it's not bad actually. I'm working on it." He smiled nostalgically at that thought, possibly thinking about the improvements he had mentioned. Then he turned to you and said, "Why can't you?"

"Huh?"

"Why can't you make friends with the other patients?" He questioned, pointing at Eon, Sinae, Lucio, Ivanko, and Katiya.

"I…" A sigh came out. You dropped your head down on your knees and shrank smaller. "I don't know; I just.. can't." Already, it felt too hard to explain why; there was no point on doing so.

"But you've managed to get along with me, right?" He directed with a smirk. "That counted as making friends; _you _sounded like you wanted to make friends with me, Jack Frost, the one and only."

The strange hot feeling came back, this time flowing from your cheeks to your neck. You shut your eyes tightly and slowly breathed in, saying, "Even if I _did _make one friend here…. I don't know if you counted as a friend."

You heard Jack sputter. "What did you just say?"

Ok, so now _you_ were the one who needed to re-word your sentence properly. You corrected with, "I think _maybe_ you're a friend… but I'd- *cough* rather be alone with you…. together, I mean. Just you and me."

He did not say anything at the following words, for he was not expecting such an answer like that. But nevertheless, you saw the twitch of a smile coming out from the corners of his lips. "Then I feel the same way, [_Name_].


	12. The Rescue

You just came back from the bathroom the next day, attempting to wheel yourself back into the Children's Ward. All of the nurses were super busy with the other patients, you learned, as the ones farther away were possibly in their worst. So for once, you would have to try to master the wheelchair yourself. _Great_…

It took you a while to move the wheelchair into the right position just so that you could drag yourself into the bed. Sometimes you would clash with the metal bed frame while there were times that you would accidently got hit by the nearby shelf or drawers somewhere in the room. Finally, you made the perfect position to get out of the contraption that replaced your legs. Just when you were about to get out, however…

"WAAAH~! I'M DYING! I'M DYING!"

A loud wail invaded the entire room, causing you to jump with surprise. You forced yourself back into the wheelchair and headed for the direction of where the sound might be. Sinae, Katiya, Lucio, and Ivanko were huddled in a circle at a nearby hospital bed, but then you realized someone was missing…

_Eon._

"OMG! Where'd he go?!" Katiya exclaimed in frustration.

"Well, he said that he was going to go play…" You heard Lucio saying in a quiet voice.

"What happened to him?" Sinae questioned, her shaky fingers gripping on her hospital gown.

"Eon must be here somewhere.." Ivanko muttered under his breath.

Then all of a sudden, you heard the whirring sounds of a drill as well as the noise of a moving machine. And then a voice cried,

"I DON'T WANNA DIE! I DON'T WANNA DIE!"

"It came from out there!" You suddenly cried, pointing to the door. Momentarily, the others were shocked to find that you were among them in the group, easily detecting Eon's screams. But nevertheless, they ran out of the room, with you in the lead and wheeling your way over to the source of the cry.

You recognized what the halls looked like thanks to your trips to the bathroom and the place where the sponge baths were taken. The walls were a sharp white, giving the illusion of space and it felt like it would expand every minute. The linoleum floor seemed cold and looked to be a pale blue. The doors to other rooms, however… the Children's Ward viewed to be farther away from the other and there were too many doors to begin with!

Luckily for you and the other patients, the screams located were in another room not far away. To your dismay, however, it was washed in complete darkness so you cannot see anything. You groped around, searching for either Eon or whatever attacked him unarmed. The shrill cries forced you to detect the approximate location and you followed them until you felt something flicking on at the contact of your arm..

Suddenly, the lights automatically flashed and everything brightened up. Revealed under the thin cylindrical LED lights were Eon struggling with a hi-tech machine, complicated enough to be used for surgery, perhaps? His hospital gown was stuck on one of the small parts and the machine kept swaying back and forth with its weapon-like tool at hand.

"LET ME GO! LET ME GO!" Eon was still yelling at the machine, trying to let himself free from the monstrous machine. But nothing was working; the grip was too strong for him.

"I'll save you! I'll save you!" You cried out, repeating the same phrase over and over as you desperately tried to save him. The machine tried to attack you as well, but you made yourself dodge its every move. Lifting him up so that the hospital gown would come free, you gestured to him to follow you and led the way out of the room.

"I got him!" You said, quickly wheeling your way back into the Children's Ward. Surprised at your extreme movements, the others followed, heading back into where they were.

Eon was still whimpering when you and the other patients were back into the room. He must be afraid, you guessed, for he rubbed the areas of his arms from where the machine must've tried to hurt him.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!" A loud voice rang out; a nurse came into the room and she was gripping onto her clipboard with fury.

Katiya shot the fuming nurse with a glare. "The lil' guy was looking for something to do and he was attacked by this machine-thingy… BUT YOU DIDN'T NOTICE!" The nurse looked into the girl's eyes, realizing that she was serious. You guessed that despite what people would've thought, Katiya can be firm and meaningful whenever she felt disappointed, angry, or frustrated.

Then after checking Eon's arms for any damage, she confirmed that there were a small cut from where the machine probably put it, but other than that, no real injuries. The nurse was now holding Eon's hand and taking to somewhere. The bathroom, maybe, so that he'll be clean, or to a different place where medical stuff like bandages and empty needles were stored.

Before he left though, Eon suddenly started to shake your hand and said, "I'm Eon. What's your name?"

You were genuinely surprised and shocked; you haven't expected for any one of the patients to notice you until now, let alone introducing themselves. "I'm [_Name_]." Was all you could manage before he was out of the room.

The other patients now turned to you, realizing that you didn't seem to be dangerous as they thought. Realizing their rudeness from earlier, they had decided to introduce themselves to you as well.

"Sorry for not introducing ourselves sooner. We like, totally forgot." Katiya cleared her throat before saying, "I'm Katiya."

"My name's Ivanko." The teenage boy, Ivanko, pointed to himself.

"I'm Sinae." The soon-to-be college student introduced herself with a bow and a smile.

"My name's Lucius… but just call me Lucio." With a handshake, Lucio gave out a toothy grin, a small gap revealed between his teeth.

You found that meeting people properly felt quite unusual. It felt foreign, you noticed, then realized that you didn't quite mind it. "It is nice to meet all of you."


	13. Destroyed Frost

You debated on whether to stay up longer than midnight or not. A few yawns and coughs proved that, for yours and Jack's sake, it might be better to start going to sleep. Just as you were about to close your eyes, however, a plump, middle-aged nurse with a hairnet came in with a scraper on hand as she headed towards the window next to your bed.

She looked at you. "You should go to bed. It's late, already!"

You blinked in confusion. You looked directly at the clock from the other wall. As it turned out, it was 1:00 AM; one hour after midnight. "_Wow_," You thought with surprise. "_I didn't even notice__…_"

A scraping sound interrupted your thoughts. The nurse was scraping off the frost from the window, possibly because it was blocking the view from the last few days. The former fern-like designs were destroyed in the scraper's wrath, making the frost look like clumps of frozen water.

"Why are you *cough, cough* scraping the frost off the window?" You cannot help but to ask despite your voice feeling weak and strained.

She gave you a weird look, as if you were crazy. "What do you think? I'm gettin' rid of the frost in the window; drivin' the other doctors and nurses mad."

"Oh… ok-" You expelled another nasty cough before attempting to finish your sentence. "I think I'll go to sleep now."

As you waited for the tidal wave of sleep to come over you, you stared at the destroyed frost patterns on the window. The frozen clumps of water were almost done now, but there were tiny scratches on the single-pane windows, reflected by the stark whiteness of the snow.

* * *

You hated to confess it, but something you realized from under the covers was that the scratches made in the window actually _bothered_ you. You weren't sure why but… something about what the nurse did forced you to think this way.

* * *

As the scratches were exposed to the freezing air, they started to creep onto the glass like spiders, thin lines morphed into legs gripping on the transparent surface. Like a severed hand, it reached out to the inside of the hospital, expecting to pull you from the covers and…

But too late for that, the scratches paused to realize, as something icy cold started to seal the scratches away, leaving behind spiky fern-like lines instead.

* * *

"Hey~ I'm back! Miss me?"

You immediately rose up moments later, not needing sleep for any moment now. Not until later. The other patients were still sleeping as Jack came in. His footsteps weren't making any noises, you realized; in fact, they sounded completely like nothing. "Yes, I missed you. I enjoy seeing you every day." You replied with honesty.

He grinned. "That's good, because I-" All of a sudden, he stopped dead into his tracks. He was gazing at the now-damaged fern frost and the scratches the nurse's scraper made in the window. His eyes turned into a navy blue, almost black in the dark, and a growl escaped from his lips. "Who. Did. This."

"…I-I think a-a nurse did it.. sh-sh-she said that s-she and the other doctors wanted to g-get rid of it!" You tried to reason, already feeling frightened. But the stuttering prevented you to make a clearer statement. A sickening feeling started to spread, beginning to plague your mind. Something about Jack's current state scared you and it made you feel quiet uneasy…

He started to snap out of his anger, however, when a flurry of coughs interfered with what he was thinking. You were coughing again and it never seemed to stop. His face instantly shifted from fury to concern in one swift second. Looking around in the room, he noticed that there wasn't any water nearby in the room. Realizing that he would have to find some other place to go get it, he said, "I'll be right back." before leaving.

The coughing went on for a while, with you blocking them with your right arm. You found it hard to muffle them without waking everyone else up, you realized, as you happened to see Lucio turning over while Sinae was groaning in her sleep. Your throat felt dry with every cough you unleashed, and your voice started to sound raspy. It took forever, you discovered, for you to stop coughing, let alone figuring out how did it started. When will this torture stop…?

"I got water! Drink this! Quickly" He kept persuading you, shoving the cup into your hands. Sensing the urgency in his voice, you obediently drank the water, letting the liquid soothe your throat as well as your body. It took you a while to finish the entire thing, but you eventually managed to without fail.

Jack sighed in relief. "That was close. Your coughs were getting worse though."

You blanched. "Worse?"

He nodded. "They were never this bad last time I visited."

".._He did have a point_." You realized in your mind. They would've felt better, but instead started to grow worse whenever Jack released more negative feelings. You weren't sure why. So to get your mind off this confusing subject, you changed topic. "Why were you angry earlier?"

"Angry? At what? I wasn't angry."

"Yes, you were; when you saw that the frost was not on the window…"

"….." He started to feel guilty about how he felt in front of you. He tried to explain the reason, "[_Name_], the only reason why I felt that way was because… I just hate it when people destroy it."

"Why?"

".." Now this conversation was growing difficult in Jack's eyes. "I think of frost as a work of art. Like snowflakes, frost is too unique and precious to be destroyed… I hate it when people try to get rid of their natural beauty; it's annoying."

"…I just wish the nurse didn't scrape the frost off; I didn't want it destroyed either." You finally said.

Without realizing it, this looked like you and Jack have something in common; the two of you didn't like it when people got rid of the beautiful patterns fern frost created.


	14. The Student from MSU

"_So_… _that nurse thought that she could win_, _huh_?" _A small chuckle escaped from Jack_'_s lips. A__lthough he still didn_'_t got over the fact that one of the nurses in the hospital scraped the frost off the window next to your bed_, _that doesn_'_t mean that he should give up trying. He watched as a new layer of frost layering itself on the window_'_s glass as you slept_, _hoping that you_'_ll get to see it in the morning_.

* * *

When you woke up the next morning, the fern frost came back again. Due to the scratches that were made by the scraper last night, there seemed to be more patterns compared to those from the last design.

The frost this time had silvery blades thin as needles and swords, with tiny leaves and thorns growing on the sides. They seemed to clash against each other; the natural vs. the artificial. On the negative space inside the border, however, grew slender ribbons entwining each other at the center. Another **JF **was there, this time at the upper-right corner.

Although they looked completely different from its earlier appearance, you were just glad that the frost on the window came back.

* * *

Every once in a while, you wondered about where the hospital was located. You would also ask yourself if the hospital had its own name (other than simply being called 'the hospital'). As much as the very question got you curious ever since the blood transfusion, you were too afraid to ask any of the doctors and nurses.

The hospital looked as if was located in the middle of nowhere, with the never-ending lands and the bleak atmosphere outside. In fact, everything seemed alien. Luckily for you, the snow made it less dark at night; the whiteness lit up the darkness in the ground and made the sky stood out in its bluish-black glory.

The location, however, was something you weren't completely sure of; judging from the languages everyone spoke, the hospital must be from an English-speaking country but which one? Was it America? Canada? England? Or perhaps in a different country that spoke English as a second language?

As always, you didn't know.

* * *

Speaking of the doctors and nurses, you had never any of met them properly; they all took different shifts at work every day, from performing surgical operations to attending the patients from other rooms. As a result, you had never got a chance to know them very well, let alone even figuring out their names.

"_They probably have different jobs to do_." You noticed as you watched a young male doctor taking care of Eon, only to head off to visit a different patient as an older nurse with gray hair took his place instead. Eon himself wasn't too pleased with this sudden change. "_This must be a normal thing here_; _they are very busy._"

Sometimes, you would try to keep track of distinguishing the doctors and nurses from each other, by watching one's every move and memorizing their appearances as well as the sounds of their voices. But then you would forget as you struggled with figuring out which one wore heavy amounts of makeup or who had a deep-sounding voice. So at this rate, there was no point of getting to know any of them.

...At least until now.

* * *

"Ok, class. These are the patients here in what we call 'The Children's Ward'. As we all know, there were originally five occupants in the room, but we've just got a sixth patient recently. Be careful with them as I give your assignment for the day, _especially_ with the sixth."

You encountered an unusual sight today; there was a doctor with a group of younger doctors and nurses (at least, that was your guess) wearing white coats and hospital green gowns. A few girls even wore skirts, feminine tops, and aprons as if they were cosplaying; something you never saw other than what the people in the hospital typically wore. The students all appeared to be approximately Sinae's age and they took careful observation at Katiya, Eon, Ivanko, Lucio, and Sinae. For some reason, however, most of them avoided you, just like what happened earlier when you first arrived in the Children's Ward. Whenever they found you watching them from the bed, they all took one nervous step backwards.

Everyone except one student.

As soon as they were given assignments, they would make their way to one of the patients and tried to tend them as well as they could. Obviously, they only ignored you. Or so it seemed… one of the young nurses from the group was complaining about something as the doctor tried to end her argument.

"Now, now. I know that you wanted to work with animals rather than people… but you need to at the very least learn how to treat people the same way as animals. Understood?"

"..Yes, sir."

A girl about the same age as Sinae walked over to your hospital bed, carrying a clipboard and pen as she fiddled with the stethoscope around her neck. Like one of the nurses from earlier, she had raven black hair. But hers was tied into a crown of braids that framed her kind-looking face, fit for a queen. She also wore a dark green shirt under her long white coat as well as light blue jeans and red Converse sneakers. A brooch in the form of a sparrow was pinned on her coat.

"Ok, so I'm here to take off those stitches on your legs.. can you stretch them out, please?" She asked you. You refused, however, as the thought of being stitched and unstitched made you feel quite uneasy. As a result, you just huddled legs closer as you covered them with the sheets, your body already shaking.

The girl sighed. "Oh c'mon, they won't hurt." She placed a hand on your arm, attempting to calm you down. "Don't be afraid; I'll try to make this quick yet painless, ok? Trust me." Her expression looked concerned; it was similar to Jack's but in a more sisterly way. As much as you wanted to push her away, something about her prevented you to do so.

After a few minutes of hesitance, you obediently did as you were told, as you pushed the sheets away and unfurled your legs. The stitches looked long and intricate on your skin, from the legs to the chest, on your arms and displayed on your back. You looked like a hand-sewed life-sized doll with the stitches sealing your injuries away. There were also pinkish areas near the stitches, with tinges of red from the blood you shed.

The girl whistled a low whistle. "Wow, that's a lot of stitches…" Then she looked at you again. "If it _does_ hurt, close your eyes and don't think about the pain."

You nodded, shutting your eyes in case the pain came as the stitches were unraveled. It was an unusual experience to have taken off; of course, you didn't remember having any stitches due to the fact you passed out when they did it. You slept so heavily that you didn't feel a thing. There were times you felt something tugging your flesh, which made you wince a couple times, but you didn't feel much otherwise. You didn't scream, you didn't kick, you didn't thrash, you didn't do anything; a huge difference compared to the day you found yourself in the hospital.

After finishing off with your legs and moving on with your right arm, she asked you, "Oh yeah, what's your name?"

"…[_Name_]." You said after the long silence.

"Really? I'm Alis." Although your eyes were closed, you sensed that she might be smiling. Then she said, "You know something? The teachers and classmates at MSU found you an interesting subject for us students. Especially for those learning to be doctors."

"….What do you mean?"

"Huh? You didn't know?" She sounded confused, as if she knew something you didn't. "Ever since the doctors here found you, they were wondering about how you lost your memory and everything. The teachers tried to make us figure out what happened to you just so that we'll get extra credit." You now sensed her rolling her eyes at that final sentence; it must've bothered her that much. "But I don't think of you as a test subject; you're a person and that's all that matters."

A… test subject? You had difficulty understanding what she told you, but maybe it wasn't just the doctors and nurses who were curious about your condition. There must be others outside of the hospital who also wanted to figure out what happened. "Then what's MSU?"

"Oh yeah! MSU stands for 'Michigan State University', the ninth largest campus in America. I'm a post-secondary student studying medicine there; you see, I want to become a veterinarian so that I can take care of animals… but my teachers want me to learn how to treat people first."

"A… student? Like Sinae? She is a post-secondary student- *coughs* and she wants to go to MICA." You asked, remembering Sinae and her application there.

"Yes, [_Name_], like Sinae."

"….I wish you- *coughs* good luck then. To become a veterin- *coughs* veterinarian, I mean."

A small laugh was heard from this Alis. "Thanks. And here I thought no one would think I could do it."

The unraveling of the stitches took a while, as she was finished with the legs and chest. She was now getting rid of the ones on your back and the arms, your eyes still closed.

"..Are you sure you can't remember anything? Anything at all?" She asked gently, reaching out for your arm.

There it was again; that painful topic you encountered with Jack earlier. "…No. I don't remember anything. I… *cough* I remembered my name, but that's it."

"Oh my god….. I'm sorry; it must've been sad, not knowing anything about your past life." Alis's voice sounded melancholy now after you told her your answer. Suddenly, you felt sorry that you didn't try hard enough to preserve whatever you had sooner.

Wanting to change the subject, you took a deep breath before asking the question that was holding you back ever since your first day in the hospital. "Alis, do you know what the name of the hospital is? Or where this place is?"

"Oh! You wanna know the hospital's name?" You nodded in reply. She answered with, "This is Sparrow Hospital, one of the four hospitals here in the city. You're in Lansing, Michigan."

"Lan-sing? Mi-chi-gan?"

"Yes. Lansing is the capital city of Michigan, one of the states in America… or the USA, however you wanna call it."

..So you were in Sparrow Hospital. In Lansing, Michigan. And that's in America. Now that you knew where you were currently residing in, you at least knew where the hospital was now as well as its own name. However, the city didn't sound like it had any involvement about your lost past. That would mean… you didn't live in Lansing? Did you live somewhere else in Michigan? Or just in another country next to America?

"Ok, I got your stitches off." Alis's voice suddenly interrupted your thoughts. From the disappearing tactile feelings, she must be done by now. "You can open your eyes now, [_Name_]." By her command, you opened your eyes. You looked down to find something surprising; the stitches were now gone!

"See? That wasn't so bad." She smiled again. "You just needed to be brave, that's all. You did very well today."

"….Thank you, Alis."

The other students began to leave, one gesturing to Alis that everyone must go back to MSU. Alis rose up and began to leave, but not until she called out at the door, saying, "Bye [_Name_]! Just look out for Jack Frost; you might get winter's first kiss of frost from him!"

You wanted to yell out a goodbye back to the student, but then her words made you pause. "_What does she mean, winter_'_s first kiss of frost_? ..._And Jack Frost_?" You asked yourself, bewildered as you thought that she meant Jack, your savior and friend. "_What does Jack have to do with this_?" Again, you don't know.

...But was there _another _thing Alis wasn't telling you?


	15. Locked In

Admit it, you hated this. No wait, you _detested _it. You hated lying down like this for many hours and days at end. You hated the fact that you almost never sat up on your bed unless a nurse or doctor pushed you to the bathroom or for a sponge bath by wheelchair. You also hated to not scratch for any itches you had in your arms and legs. And you _certainly_ hated the fact that you cannot do anything else right now but to sleep (or to do anything else without walking). That, you realized, was boring.

Outside the hospital grounds, you started to figure out what Alis meant by 'winter's first kiss of frost'; sometime in the mere few hours in the middle of the night, it started to rain. Rain was something you had never experienced, so you didn't expect it to arrive at first. But then it stopped quickly, transforming the scene into something wet and green. Everything was green, from the grass to the plants, and it felt like a completely different experience in your eyes. Maybe snow doesn't always last forever; rain would kill it quickly. But then to your surprise, the rain would dry up and be replaced with something pale and icy. _Frost_, you realized. The kind you would find on the ground. Although it must've snowed more than once before you arrived… this must be what Alis told you. The fern frost, although once gone from the rain, came back with the snow in the form of lace-like patterns.

Peering at the view as you lied down on bed, the snow-covered scenery looked beautiful but also startling due to the stark whiteness. Perhaps it appeared more intimidating than last time. After all, you almost got _killed_ from the cold. It felt nearly impossible to enjoy winter again. Or snow and ice in general.

But at the same time, you wanted to go outside and play, like the others used to in the winter. You wanted to make a snow angel, you wanted to build a snow fort, and you wanted to ice-skate. You even wanted to be in a snowball fight!

Obviously, you cannot remember if you had done any of those things before the frost patterns, but after hearing about them on TV and reading short passages about them from books, these activities must be really fun, for you yearned to do exactly those things. In other words, you wanted to… to be _out_ there instead of _in_ here.

…But how could you? Especially since you don't have any friends, or lack thereof, here in Sparrow Hospital?

* * *

"…You're pretty quiet today, [_Name_]. What's wrong?"

Huddling up with your legs and body close together, you mumbled a "Nothing." before attempting to make yourself smaller with your current position. The day flew by fast and although Jack came by again to visit, you didn't feel like speaking very much.

"…" You spoke nothing.

"[_Name_]? It's not like you to be this quiet." Now Jack was confused. Concerned, even. From the way he sounded, he had never seen you being this silent. But what was the point? I mean, he was a loner so he should've been used to it…

"[_Name_]…. don't be upset; you can tell me anything." He suddenly pulled you closer, hugging- wait, no, _embracing_ (another word you learned; embracing is the same as hugging, but with deeper meaning) you in his arms. Normally, you would've allowed it, but you squirmed in his hold instead. It felt uncomfortable, too foreign, yet you can't do anything about it.

"[_Name_]…?"

Now you felt the hot tears beginning to leak out again. But you shouldn't cry! You mustn't! Covering your face with your hands, you muffled out any upcoming sobs, mournful groans, and sharp breaths. That feeling felt too strong, too painful, too angsty, too…. You weren't sure how to describe it, even with the simplest words. You just wanted to-

"_I hate this_!" Your voice suddenly rose up into a high pitch, a small cry breaking. Unfortunately for Jack, he didn't understand about what you just said.

"I hate being in here so long… I hate it, I hate it!" In verge of having a panic attack, you thrashed your arms around, fighting against his embrace and moved away until you were farther than him from the bed. You curled up again into a ball, wanting to cry your heart out. Your body was shaking not because of the cold, but from the tears you were trying to seal in.

"I want to…. *cough* I want to go outside. I wanna play in the snow, *cough* I want to enjoy winter, *cough, cough* I wanna take par- *cough* in a snowball fight, tobogganing, make- *cough* snow angels… everything *cough, cough*! But I can't- *cough*! I can't get out of here! *cough, cough* Never ever." You said in a never-stopping river of words, although broken due to your coughing. Even if one of the patients woke up, you didn't care right now; all you wanted was to get your desire out.

Jack was silent for a while, surprised and shocked at your words. Until he said, "You… You _want_ to be out in the snow? _Seriously_?"

Sniffling, you managed a nod. "I'll do anything to be out there even for… *cough* one night. _Anything_."

"..Anything?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yes! Any-" But then something blocked you from finished your next phrase. "..Why are you- *cough* asking- *cough* me- *cough, cough* Why are you asking me this?"

"Well, I was just…" He paused, thinking about how to figure out what he wanted to say to you right now. "I just realized something; we usually spend time here… but never playing together. Outside having fun, that kind of stuff, right…?"

"….No. *cough* We haven't."

"So right now, my plan is to make it happen…" You took a peek to find that Jack was actually _smirking_. It all seemed calculating, too difficult to decipher his thinking. What could he be up to? What was he planning?

"[_Name_], I'll make your wish happen. In fact, it'll probably come true tomorrow night if you let me." Another smirk played on his lips, this time with an edge of playfulness.

Now those words sparked into your mind, full of opportunity and excitement; a completely new feeling. "Really?" You managed to ask. Could he really do that…?

He nodded in honesty, but then pointed at your legs. "On one condition; you'll need to use your legs there. In other words, you'll have to _walk._ That's the only way." He explained in a serious voice; this was the first time you had heard him talk this way. "You're up for it?"

You stared at him, mouth dropping with shock. "What?! But Jack, my legs are... They are.." Ok, now you had nothing else to say. _Nothing at all_. You looked down to where your legs were; dangling at the side of the bed with a few leftover bruises. There were also reddish-pink lines from where the stitches used to be. Judging from the way he spoke, you saw that he meant that he wanted you to walk by yourself… and without the wheelchair. That, unfortunately, would be difficult since you would fall down even if you took a step. And you don't want it happening again…..

But would it be worth it? If you actually learned to walk again, you would move around more. In the hospital room, while you're outside playing in the snow, between the hallways… _everywhere._ You would be able to walk, skip, run, all sorts of things... but that required getting up and using your legs properly like you used to. But since you don't have any stitches anymore, would your legs be well enough to try it? If so, then…

"_I_'_ll do it_." You finally announced, officially making this decision. "I'll do it tomorrow night."


	16. To Recover or To Reject?

_Jack cannot believe it_; _he was surprised that you actually harbored the desire of enjoying a snow day_, _despite your injuries and your continuous stays inside the hospital. But then again_, _he did notice that your stitches were removed so at least the blood won_'_t gush out as you moved. Despite that_, _however_, _he once saw you struggling to walk properly like you did before you passed out and sent to the hospital without notification. He was starting to worry about that_...

_He saw a couple people struggling to move when polio suddenly happened many years ago. He_'_d seen them in wheelchairs and braces to move around_, _taking them years to eventually walk on their own again without them. But in your case_, _however_, _you didn_'_t have trouble walking because of polio_… _it was something different. But what could it be_? _Bone cancer_? _A broken ankle_? _Unfortunately for him_, _he didn_'_t know the answer._

_But then again_, _he was glad that you were brave enough to tackle the challenge of walking by yourself so that you would be able to go outside in the snow and play… but how could he be sure of that_, _in case if you lied to him_? _He wished he could tell in case if he wasn_'_t convinced afterwards_.

…_A devious and calculating smirk formed on his lips_. _What if he tested you on how well you could keep up as you walked_?

_As he formed a plan so elaborate yet easy enough for you to understand before anyone else does_, _he went off to the streets of Lansing_, _Michigan_, _America_; _the location of the hospital you were currently residing in. Besides_, _he should definitely do something about his own clothes as well_… _oh yeah_, _and maybe find a shop where they sold shoes and other suitable footwear_..

* * *

"Hey, did ya hear?"

"Uh, no. What's going on?"

"The girl who was missing for about a month now… people are starting to freak."

"…You gotta be kidding me."

"Nuh-uh, it's on TV!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah!"

"Then let's check it out!"

Today felt like a drag; with the excitement saved up so that you will earn your chance to be outside for the night, the entire day had its time passing by very, very, slowly… as you were reading (this time, you were reading 'Alice in Wonderland'), you overheard a conversation going on between the other patients. They surrounded the TV in front of Sinae's hospital bed, watching the news from NBC together. From what you saw from your side of the bed, you saw footage of the parents looking weary from mourning as well as a video clip of people trying to comfort them (they were still blurry though). An anchorman now appeared on the TV screen, announcing what was happening there.

"Even though it had been a while since the disappearance, police were trying to figure out [_Name_'_s_] possible location. She might've been either missing or dead… but one thing for sure was that if anyone can't find her, then..."

"_Then what_?" You wondered as the anchorman's voice faded away. "_What will happen by then_?" As you stared at the group watching the rest of the news on TV, you questioned whether the parents shown there will be able to handle the loss of their child. Will they stop crying and try to be happy again? Or will they still be miserable about it forever….?

* * *

It was now afternoon, an hour before evening would come. During the first few minutes, you heard a weird noise, echoing from one room to here in the Children's Ward. At first, you ignored it as you thought that it would be coming from a machine. But then the sound grew louder and longer, echoing all over the walls and the hallways. It sounded like whale music; you knew this because you saw footage of humpback whales in a documentary earlier as well as hearing their sounds. It began to get more annoying and you had to cover your ears with the pillow.

"What's going on here- *cough*?" You raised your voice a little as the sounds cried louder once again.

Katiya looked over from her copy of 'Dear Dumb Diary' and didn't seem to be completely affected by the agonizing noise. She had cotton balls stuffed in her ears so it muted the screaming. She said with a sigh, "It's probably one of the patients suffering while screaming in pain again." Noticing the confused look on your face, she explained. "In Sparrow Hospital, the doctors care more about the less-fortunate than us."

"Less-fortunate? *cough* What do you mean?" You cannot help but to ask.

"As in those with cancer, rare diseases, stuff like that. But they probably don't like to treat us very much, even though we're also the patients who are stuck here."

"They don't? Why?"

"Because," She sat up and faced you, "even though we suffered a lot, though not as much as you probably had, they thought that we might be too easy for them to fix. They prefer something more complicated, something like, totally harder to deal with. Like AIDS or something. But they don't understand that _we_'_re_ also the ones suffering here!"

"…Is that a bad thing? *cough* Being ignored because of…. what do we end up getting?" You swallowed as you tried to imagine everyone in the Children's Ward groaning for assistance as the unfortunate got the five-star treatment. I mean, what if you and the others ended up in the similar situation as them..?

"Well, duh! Of course they would!" Allowing her face to land on the pillows, she mumbled out a, "It's a hospital… but it feels like prison; we never really got out and no one seems to care about that…"

Was it true though? Being treated for injuries and then being rejected for someone who was in more pain and agony? Like you experienced when you first came in? Out of all the patients here in the room, you seemed to suffer the most, considering the attention you were given. But then once you would attempt to walk on your own… would that mean that you'll eventually be treated like dirt? Just like them?

..You weren't sure if Katiya meant it or not, but you wished that the doctor would focus on every patient, from the seemingly-normal lads to the deadly-serious ones in every ward. Even if it was just something like a sprained ankle or lung cancer, they all shared the same pain. Just like you.


	17. Till I Stand Up On My Own

This was it; the night that you had waited for. It might've caused you to break the rules like this, temporarily escaping from the hospital bed, but you had to.

If doing this would mean getting caught, then… you would be willing to take the risk.

After waiting for an hour or so at night, the other patients all slept soundly. Initiating that the coast was clear, you rose up from the covers and dragged your feet to the side. Staring at the empty linoleum floor like a black hole, you thought to yourself, "_Ok_, _I can do this_, _I can do this__…__ I just need to believe in myself and have the guts for it__….._"

But before you could do anything, however, something transparent and blue rushed by in front of you. It was speedy, it was swift, it was a… was it a ghost?

It _looked_ like a ghost, but it was actually a butterfly. A tiny butterfly with fragile blue wings appeared the hospital room. It fluttered by you for a bit, gesturing you to follow it before disappearing right in front of your eyes. Curious of where the butterfly was going, you remembered that you had to _walk_ in order to do it..

Forcing yourself down, the clammy floor came in contact with the soles of your feet. Although it was cold, the floor also felt slightly damp. You wobbled back and forth to the side, trying to reclaim your balance. Luckily for you, the hand holding onto the metal rails of the bed kept you stable.

"That was close..." You muttered. Weakly lifting up your legs, you took the first few steps.

They were shaky, legs stuttering like the ones from newborn fawns. Every time you took a step, it felt like the floor was going to suck you in like the ice from the lake. But no, the floor stayed intact as you took a step. The legs ached from days of inactivity and suffering and you felt like falling down face-first every time. But moment by moment, you kept going as you took more steps towards the door.

"_Just place one foot in front of the other_… _that_'_s it_, _keep going_, [_Name_]…" You heard a smooth yet soft voice calling for you, but you only focused on trying to walk properly.

So one step followed by another, right foot going ahead of the left. You kept wobbling a lot, but stuck your arms out a bit for stability. The butterfly would appear every few minutes, but then it would disappear again every time you caught up to its direction. Eventually, it was gone in a matter of minutes when you tried to catch it.

It might've been from sheer instinct or your lack of attention beyond the place, but you limped around in the halls of the hospital, finding yourself next to a door leading to.. outside. Outside the hospital.

You weren't sure why at first.. until you remembered that you said something about wanting to go outside for once and to play in the snow like everyone else…

"_But is it ok to do it this late at night?_" You thought wildly. For one thing, it would be nice to do it without being caught by the doctors, nurses, or the other patients and that you would have Jack to yourself for the night… but on the other hand, what if somebody discovered you and tried to keep you from escaping?

Your thoughts were interrupted as you eyed a bundle of clothes near the door. They seemed to be used to protect yourself from the cold, you assumed. The clothes consisted of a red plaid jacket, a matching hat, a white scarf, black gloves, black ski pants, a pair of socks, and white snow boots. Wherever did Jack get these, you didn't know.

You quietly yet swiftly put the clothes on over your hospital gown. It felt unusual to wear other clothes besides the torn garments or that thin shirt-like clothing you were currently wearing, but it felt nice to put on something different for a change, even if the effects might only last for a day. However, dressing yourself up felt awkward at first, for you had never done this independently; most of the time, doctors and nurses would dress and undress you during sponge baths. After getting them on for a few minutes, you stepped out of the hospital and into the outside world again, pushing the door open as you went in. A blast of chilly wind hit your face and forced your eyes to close for a moment. As you immediately unlocked them after the wind was gone, you cannot believe what you just saw.

The first thing you noticed was that the sky was very clear, with lots of snow on the ground. Although it was dark due to no streetlights in the area, the snow was white enough to make everything seem lighter and less lonely. The atmosphere didn't feel intimidating or scary like last time but it felt more.. tranquil. More pleasant. It looked like something straight out of a fairytale or a photograph.

The air was fresh and icy, but not poisonous compared to last time. No, it actually felt… _refreshing_. It felt like medicine, but without the icky taste and its liquid state. The coughs disappeared as soon as you took a deep breath. Now it felt easier to consume air without coughing, which you took it as a good thing.

"Jack~!" You softly called out in order to cause no disturbance.

No answer.

"Jack~! It's me, [_Name_]! I'm over here~!"

Still nothing. The corners of your mouth twitched into a slight frown. Jack said that he would be here.. but you couldn't see him. Not at this time of the day.

Then you saw something sitting on top of a hill. You had to squint to get a closer look but you immediately realized what it was.

A toboggan! And an old-fashioned one, too! It was the kind that was made of wood with metal rails and handles as well as a rope for steering. The wood used for the toboggan was light beige while the metal was painted a bright, shiny red. The rope didn't look too faded, either. You've seen something like this on one of the picture books in the hospital, but never thought that there would be one standing right _there._

Why was it there, you didn't know. Nevertheless, you slowly walked your way to the top of the hill, almost falling down every few steps. Even as you were close to slipping, you kept your ground. One step came on top of another, and another, and another. One foot ahead of the back foot, moving on forward..

You didn't realize that once you get to the top of the hill, you were supposed to _stop_ walking, for you almost lost your balance as soon as you made it. Luckily for you, your gloved hands managed to grip on the toboggan and your stability was regained. A sigh of relief was released from your lungs as it happened. But then you started to think twice as you look down; the hill looked so steep!

"_It_- _It looks scary down there_." You stuttered in your mind. You wanted to head down to the other side and try to find Jack there… but how?

Your eyes landed on the toboggan, then at the bottom of the hill, and then at the toboggan again… your mind's gears slowly turned, formulating an idea. It spent a few minutes to start itself, but only a few seconds for you to realize it.

"Me… toboggan… the hill…." You slowly said to yourself, a plan beginning to take shape. "I should toboggan down there!"

You placed the toboggan down on the snow, seating yourself into position. Gazing down, you swallowed and mentally wished that you would make it alive. Using your foot to give yourself a little push, gravity started to pull you down and everything was tilted and speeding down…

The entire scene blurred in smudges of white, brown, dark green, and black as you rushed down, down down. Wind whipped your face and your breath paused as you saw yourself sliding down without further notice. You forced yourself to grip on the rope as it moved with a flash. It all felt so fast, so speedy, so- it was hard to describe, really. As much as you wanted to close them again, you cannot take your eyes off of everything with this new feeling of exhilaration flowing on the inside. But then all of a sudden, the track suddenly changed from soft, fluffy snow to sleek, slippery… ice? The feeling immediately changed, shifting from excitement to dread, dread to excitement, and back again. Everything went faster, never stopping, and it all felt extremely unusual in your eyes-

"U-WAHHHHHHHH~!"

The toboggan suddenly twisted and turned as you discovered loop-de-loop tracks made of ice. And then there was what seemed to be a ski drop…. Now you and the toboggan flew up into the black night sky..

Now everything went in slow motion, or slo-mo as people called it, as you and the toboggan crossed paths with the moon shining overhead and the tiny stars twinkling nearby. The jump was thrilling at first, until you looked down-

And then it happened; the motion went back to fast-forward and gravity pulled you down. As a result, the toboggan landed with a soft _thump_ on the snow. You, on the other hand, ended up with your head stuff under the snow pile nearby.

"HAHAHAHA! MAN, THAT WAS AWESOME!" You just heard the familiar voice from the surface; it belonged to Jack. So he was at the other side after all! Who knew? "You ok?"

"_Mmmpphffthhhh_!" Was all you ended up as you attempted to form words. You failed to do so because of the excess snow stuffed inside your mouth. You spat out the snow and poked your head into the surface, the cottony snow stuck on your hat and hair as you tried to shake it away. "Yeah, I'm fine." As you stood up, you brushed off remaining snow off your jacket and pants before looking up.

Jack grinned at the surroundings in front of him. "Welcome, [_Name_], to winter wonderland."


	18. Snowballs and Fun Times

At this moment, you found yourself transported straight into a new world, an unexplored territory full of pure white land. The deciduous trees were frosted with glittery frost and the dark green coniferous trees had their branches cradling bits of snow with ease. Icicles were hanging around in every edge they could find and thin spider webs were threaded with frozen dewdrops desperately clinging onto the fragile strands. The plants were dusted with powdery translucent particles and the snow dominated the ground, blanketing everything in sight. And with all this much white all over the place, the ground seemed to be spacious, expanding and never stopping.

Everything was different. It looked different, felt different, even smelled different. The swift minutes of the night pulled you from the tedious, monochrome, and alienating hospital to a cold yet welcoming kingdom, where winter currently ruled the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth. Where you once had non-functioning legs slowly worked into good health. The atmosphere once lit up by light bulbs and cylindrical LED lights were swapped by the natural light of the snow's whiteness and the beams of the moon. Even the clothes fitted with the extremities of the icy season; as you wore the new winter garments over your oversized hospital gown, Jack changed from his usual blue hoodie and cord-wrapped leggings to a navy blue trench coat with bronze buttons, a lighter blue shirt over a white v-line sweater, sleek black leather pants, and light brown boots that extended to mid-thigh length.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Jack said in a soft voice. "This is why I love winter; it creates its own beauty right in front of you."

"Wow…." Was all you could gasp out; you immediately loved the wintery setting visualized in front of you. "And I don't know why people don't like winter- *cough* in the first place."

He sighed, his breath not visible from the icy air. "I think it's because of the cold; they're so sensitive to it that they see winter as a bad thing. Increasing ice, low temperatures, that kind of thing."

You bit your bottom lip, not meaning to make him slightly agitated. So instead, you changed the subject. "I'm just wondering though…" You slowly walked over to where the toboggan stood, lifting it up. "Using this… toboggan.. it's one way to play outside at winter, isn't it?"

Suddenly noticing your attention on the object you rode on earlier, he said, "Yep, and you were actually out there _tobogganing_."

Ahh… so that was what you were doing at that hill; you went tobogganing. If that was one of the winter activities out there, then what else was there?

Now Jack had a snowball in his hand, solid, perfect, round, and… deadly? He played catch by himself with it. "Ok, you know how I told you about the times I had snowball fights with other kids?"

You nodded; you definitely remembered them clearly as if those events actually happened in your mind.

He grinned his signature grin. "I was thinking of starting a 1-on-1 snowball fight for you to start off… but first, I think you'll need to practice with your arm over there." At the mention of your arm, your hand tightened into a fist; you _did _put your arms to use… just not as much as you originally thought. You just hope that they didn't lack any strength.

He pointed at a few blocks of ice nearby, each indicating as some sort of target. Where did those come from, you weren't sure. "See those targets over there?" He said. "Make a few snowballs and try to hit them straight-on. Accuracy, strength, and control are needed so think quickly while throwing." As an example, he made an another perfectly round snowball with firm yet gentle precision. He even blew on it, while looked odd for a moment. The next thing you knew, the snowball appeared to be glossy as ice and was a bright pale blue.

"_How did he_-" You thought with surprise as you saw this action happening. You blinked and it just happened without notice.

Keeping his eyes on one of the targets, Jack swung his arm back and threw it with ease, causing the snowball to fly like a baseball thrown by the pitcher (something you once saw from a baseball game on TV). It was intensively fast, flitting like a bird, as the overhand throw triggered the flight. As it made contact with the target, the snowball was gone, stuck halfway on the target's center.

"Jack! That's amazing!" You found yourself exclaiming, your jaw dropped with shock. Was it possible to throw like that? It seemed impossible, but it doesn't feel like it.

"Heh, that's nothing; _I_'_ve_ thrown farther than that." He smirked. "Your turn."

Realizing that you need to start practicing, you bent over to scoop up some snow. Able to build a sturdy and stable snowball, you focused on a different target. You threw it and…

_SPLAT_! The snowball almost hit the target, only to find it landing at the corner. The aim was nearly perfect… but not entirely correct. And you were so close…

"I.. I didn't hit it right!" You exclaimed in frustration; how come something looking so simple can be so complicated...? "..I'm probably that bad, am I?"

"What? No! You just- look, all you have to do is to concentrate harder and never keep your eyes off it. It's easy." As he said that, he made another snowball and threw it at the target again, straight at the center. "Like that, see?"

Eyes locked on another target, you made another snowball and forced your mind to use up its concentration. Staring at the small center facing your gaze, you swung the snowball overhand, watching it whiz through the air and-

_SPLAT_! Came the snowball once again. Opening one shut eye, you noticed that the snowball… _it actually hit the target_! Partly disfigured and stuck, it clung onto the target's surface before loosening its grip to return to the snow as it disappeared instantly.

"Haha, there you go!" He happily clapped at your efforts. "I knew you can do it! Throw another one!"

This went on for a while, throwing snowballs for practice. From what you observed between shots, they took a lot of self-control on not just the aim, but also on who or what you wanted to target with the snowball itself. Throwing a snowball was like shooting an arrow, launching a slingshot, or firing a bullet; the only way to control those weapons was to focus on where it should hit and how hard the damage should be when inflicted.

"I think you're ready." Jack said after a few perfect throws later. Then all of a sudden, he ran off in a flash, his laughter chiming like a bell. "Try to get me, [_Name_]! Hahaha!"

One moment he was there next to you and now after a swift moment, you realized that he was gone. Armed with a snowball curled up on your right hand, you tried to search for him in the surroundings. Everything appeared to be empty again, with you as the world's only occupant once again. There were no sounds except for silence and you found it quite… strange. Weren't there supposed to be noises even in the quietest places?

Before you could come up with an answer, however, an army of flying snowballs were heading this way. Straight. Towards. Your. Face. They instantly pelted you in their frozen fury, causing you to fall down in shock and surprise. A yelp escaped from your lips.

Wiping the bits of snow off your face, you caught a glimpse of Jack grinning at the sight of your reactions. Before you could do anything, he stuck out his tongue before darting off again with laughter. As he left, a bright blue and powdery substance sprinkled all over your face.

"_Wait_, _blue powder_?" You happened to notice right before a strange feeling sparked up. A feeling full of happiness, laughter, excitement, and joy…? Whatever it was, you began to fire snowballs at his direction with glee, never caring about where the snowballs would end up (ok, ok, maybe a _little_). Running seemed to be an issue either, for you found strength in your legs to convert from walking to running in no time flat. As you ran faster and faster, your hair flew around due to the wind and you felt cool air fanning your face.

And so for a few hours, you and Jack continued on with the 1-on-1 snowball fight, narrowly avoiding each other's snowballs as the two of you created more ammo out of durable white snow. By the time you were close to wearing out, you realized that his style suddenly shifted…

Normally he would throw snowballs around randomly near your direction, but as time went on, he changed into a more strategically-advanced enhancement with a smirk flashing on his face… and you learned this part the hard way.

As you found yourself panting in exhaustion, you took shelter under a bare-branched maple tree and you rested for a bit. To occupy yourself before taking off, you made a few snowballs for practice as well as backup. As the small piles of snow on your hands became spherical in shape, it came to realize that this was the first time that you'd ever had this much fun. You don't remember if you ever participated in a snowball fight or went tobogganing before the drowning, but something kept telling you that this might as well be your first time.

Peeking from behind, your eyes caught what seemed to be a bolt of cerulean blue and frosty white strands of hair. Thinking that it might be Jack, you threw a snowball at where he should've been.

But nothing happened.

"Did I miss him?" You found yourself asking that question quite loudly; your voice bounced off and echoed in the air, intensifying it as if it's a sound system. Just when you were about to grab another snowball to try again, something pulled you down to the ground. Your head made contact with the tree and it shook, the snow-covered branches releasing snow from above as it covered half of your body.

"Nope, but I'm betting that _you_'_re _missing _me_."

You poked your head out of the snow again, only to find Jack on top of you as he smirked. You can't believe it; _he _was the one who did this! And you were so close to defeating him!

"I win." He said in a matter-of-factly way. Despite the straightforwardness of his voice, you heard teasing and seductive tones in the two words he spoke.

"And I… I didn't." You bit your lip at this fact; as much as the thought of losing made you sad, you were too busy soaking up the fun to care.

Rolling over to one side, he stretched his arms out before spreading those out along with his legs. He made movement on the surface of the snow, as if he was flying while staring at the sky.

"What are you doing?" You asked curiously; what could he be up to this time?

"Making a snow angel; you should try it. It's actually relaxing." Was all he said before facing the depths of the night sky again. Absentmindedly, you did the same, as you spread your arms out like wings while your legs formed a skirt in their movement. Jack was right; it did feel relaxing. In this position, you could lie down quickly and watch the sky above before falling asleep.

Finished with his creation, he turned around to face you again. "Having fun, [_Name_]?"

Letting out a small laugh, you replied with, "Yeah, I'm having fun. I felt.. free. And happy to be out here."

He grinned. "See, [_Name_]? People think winter's all terrible and everything. But once you get past it, you enjoy it."

What he said was true, you realized, as you thought about the blissful antics away from the hospital. Even though you suffered from the chilly air when you first came, you somehow faced it by yourself and allowed the fun to distract you from the icy extremities.

"_This is__…_" You thought as the stars twinkled faintly in the sky. "_This is awesome. I guess winter isn_'_t_ _as bad as I thought after all__._"

Catching Jack's gaze from his crystal blue eyes, you turned to smile at him.


	19. Freak Out!

Sometime later, you woke up with a strange bloated feeling. You cannot detect what it was at first, but it felt like you had water blocked by a dam, only to find it slowly leaking minute by minute. You had to go _really_, _really badly_. But there was no bedpan or wheelchair at sight, none at all.

Staring at your legs as well as the floor, you had no choice but to…

* * *

One of the nurses walked by, with a clipboard and pen in hand. She was planning to check for your current condition, to see if any injuries from earlier still affected you badly. After writing down a few notes from other patients in different rooms, her eyes gazed at your bed, only to find-

"_JESUS CHRIST_~!"

The bed was empty, the covers wrenched out of its place and into the floor. The nurse turned pale in shock, as she rolled her eyes and fainted in the process. _SPLAT_! Went the nurse. Like a snowball, she automatically found herself stuck on the floor as she fell. She looked dead as a doornail.

"What the hell was going on here? Didn't anyone remember that nurses are _not _supposed to faint at the sight of blood? Well, that's just-" A nearby doctor stopped his ranting and he, too, grew pale at the sight of the empty bed. "_WHERE DID_ [_NAME_] _GO_?"

After hearing the doctor's scream, all of the others doctors and nurses passing by started to panic. The other patients nearby also woke up with a jolt, the scream waking everyone up at the same time. As they watched from their beds, they saw the doctors scampering around while the nurses attempted to follow them. They searched everywhere, from behind the machines to under the beds, failing to find you miserably. They looked under hospital beds, peeked behind equipment, and even investigated outside. The patients weren't sure if they should be amused or annoyed.

"How could she just disappear like that? I mean, she can't even walk and-"

"You think she just crawled her way out?"

"Or even _dragged_ herself?"

"Maybe she used a wheelchair…"

"That's crazy!"

"Well, _you_'_re_ crazy!"

"No, you are!"

"Am not!"

"Am too!"

"Guys, stop arguing!"

"NO!"

"GO TO HELL!"

"NO, _YOU _GO TO HELL!"

"NO, YOU!"

"YOU!"

"Ugh… you're all bloody idiots.."

"WE'RE NOT BLOODY! _YOU_'_RE_ THE BLOODY GIT HERE! IF YOU HAVEN'T MADE US SEARCH WHILE THAT PATIENT WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF A KIDNEY TRANSPLANT, THEN WE WOULD'VE-"

All noise stopped at once, however, when at the depths of the bathroom, there was the sound of a stomach-curdling _flush__…._

"Is everything ok?" You stepped out of the bathroom door, a roll of toilet paper in hand. You looked confused and walked over to the shocked group of doctors and nurses in front of you. As you went out to pee, you heard shouting, screaming, loud noises, noisy footsteps, and everything in between. You wondered how it happened or _why _did it happen, but it certainly stopped after you just came out from the toilet..

For a moment there, there was a huge sigh of relief; so you didn't run away or do anything drastic after all. But then gasps of shock came again, but for a different reason;

_You actually managed to walk all by yourself_.


	20. The Littlest Things in Life

Things grew a little easier for you after last night's outing and the morning's events. Now that you could walk, you don't have to use the wheelchair anymore (you sorta missed being on it though). You were allowed to go to the bathroom or to the place where you had your sponge baths alone and you could walk around in the room to other people's beds.

For most of the afternoon, you decided to walk around the outskirts of the Children's Ward for practice. There were times when you wobbled as you stood still, but eventually you pulled yourself upright before walking again. Then you attempted to run, realizing that running on the linoleum floor barefoot felt slightly different compared to running on snow with boots on. Maybe it was the ground, or it might've been because of the minimal weight your hospital gown carried. Whatever the reason, it took you a while to get used to for both surroundings. Skipping seemed to have a similar effect, as well as hopping from place to place.

Most people would be lazy, complaining about walking or running so much. But depending on the way someone viewed it, that kind of perspective was actually different; for someone who had to be stuck in bed for days with little physical activity, you actually enjoyed all the movement going on in your body. As long as you don't overdo it, of course.

* * *

Another thing that improved just now was the friendship between you and the other patients. Ever since you rescued Eon from one of the hospital's machines, the others had been trying to make you hang out with them more, instead of being alone all the time (which to be honest, wasn't entirely true). Also, when they heard about what happened when you left for the bathroom, they laughed in hysterics as they talked about for hours at end.

"They were like, 'OMG, SHE'S GONE! SHE'S GONE!', only to find that she actually went out to pee…"

"Did ya see the looks on their faces?! SO. FREAKIN'. EPIC."

"Hahaha! Stop it! It's t-too much f-f-for me- HAHAHAHAHA!"

"Dude, it's funnier than that time one doctor got hit by that organ he actually dropped.."

"I just wish it was posted on Youtube.."

In fact, it was so hilarious that you could've heard the patients from other wards laughing out loud, too, as you heard their never-ending laughter from the other side of the wall. You often wondered if they were laughing _at _you, or laughing _with_ you.

Sinae was the first to speak normally, after wiping tears of joy from her eyes. "You're so funny, [_Name_]; none of the patients had ever made the people here freak out like that."

"Really?" You cannot help but to ask. Perhaps that in here, this was the place where very few people ever laughed in hilarity or amusement.

"Yeah, the hospital's so boring that it sucks the life out of you." Katiya stated as she tried to breathe properly despite the laughter.

Lucio then said, "Maybe that's one thing we like about you; you're actually funny without even trying."

You now realized that your cheeks were coloured with a light pink blush; no one had ever thought of you that way, let alone give you compliments like this. Maybe it had something to do with your lost past, but it still felt foreign to you in every way. Even if you didn't think of your earlier action as something people would find it humorous, you were just glad that the patients managed to cheer up at some point, you just didn't know it.

"Hey [_Name_]!" Ivanko suddenly called out, interrupting your thoughts.

"Yes?"

"There's some cool stuff on Youtube that you should totally see. Wanna check it out?" He offered, pulling out a sleek white Macbook and turning it on.

"Um… ok. Sure." With a quick hop, you went over to Ivanko's hospital bed, where you, along with Katiya, Sinae, Lucio, Eon, and Ivanko, watched a couple videos on Youtube together. As the funny scenes came up, the six of you would laugh, expressing shock, wonder, and amusement. An unusual feeling pooled in your body, quite similar to what you felt from last night. You cannot identify it, but it made you quite warm and comfortable inside.

Even at an odd time like this, you realized, you guessed that here in Sparrow Hospital, the littlest things matter because people cherish them, using them at every opportunity.


	21. Story Times

Time went by faster than it usually does. Maybe it was the exercise that gave it supersonic speed or the fact that the snowball fight from last night made it all so swift like the wind.

Anyway, a few days had passed and it took a while for the hilarity of the incident to die down for a tad bit. The doctors and nurses would give the patients weird looks if any of them ever mentioned it, but none of them cared about the possible consequences that would happen afterwards. Even Jack found this funny, causing him to shake as he rolled on the floor laughing with joy. When you told him about what happened that morning, he found it amusing; hearing them freak out at the sight of your disappearance as well as your sudden ability to walk without assistance was probably something they did _not_ expect in a hospital.

* * *

"As q…"

"Quietly."

"As quietly as the snow f-fall-"

"Falling?"

"-falling around her, Donia turned back to the f… fro-zen n-"

"Frozen night."

"-the frozen night and skated… across the river, spill-ing her handful of… of.."

"Snow."

"-spilling her handful of snow like glitter on the ice." You finally finished reading, slowly closing the book 'Wicked Lovely' in front of you.

Another change you discovered was that you started to cough a little less. It was good and all, but you still wished to get rid of every single one in order to speak more clearly. When you told Jack about this (although it sounded a bit more like complaining), he would get you to read out loud to him, keeping track of how much you coughed less and how well you could keep the words stabilized and flowing. Why did he come up with this idea, you don't know, but one thing you noticed was that you weren't too confident in public speaking.

"How well did I do?" You asked quietly as you stowed 'Wicked Lovely' back into its rightful place in the bookshelf. It was difficult, however, for the shelf was too tall for you to reach even on tiptoes. Just when your fingers touched the top shelf, he held onto your shoulders firmly and took the book from your hands.

"Better than last time... Here, let me do it." He offered. But before he would put it away himself, he carefully observed the book and examined its contents. "Huh, that looks interesting. Good book?"

You nodded. "Yeah, it's about this girl- *cough* who can see faeries and the conflicting Summer and Winter courts."

"Summer and Winter courts…?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Kingdoms… they're kingdoms ruled by faeries, each ruled by a faery king and queen. *cough* There's one for Summer and Winter. I also- *cough* heard about the Dark and High courts…" Was all you could summarize, since you were just learning how to memorize the plot of the book.

"Hmm…." With little effort and strain, Jack easily tucked the book back into its place on the bookshelf. As you sat down again on the bed, he asked you, "Didn't you say that you can read by yourself… but not out loud?"

"I think so. Why?"

He tucked his legs in. "I don't know; I'm surprised that you managed to learn how to read already, even though you lost your memories. But it's hard to tell since you can't read properly out loud in front of people, let alone with _me_."

Now that you thought of it, you _did _figure out how to make the words come alive in your head by yourself (maybe you already knew how to read back then?), but you found that every time you would transfer the story from your mind to your voice, it felt difficult to put them in place.

"It just happened." You shrugged.

"Ah, whatever. I'm sure you'll get hang of it some point, anyway." Shifting into a new position as he adjusted his legs and arms, he decided to change topics. "Managed to get along with the others lately?"

"Well..." You winded a strand of hair around your finger, letting it propel back for a moment as the finger dropped lower and lower, slowly letting itself free. "We did watch videos from Youtube sometimes, or play one of those games over there." You pointed at the basket full of toys and games not far from the bed. "But most of the time, they just told me stories; stuff about what their lives were like before they came here." You added in, remembering the conversations with the other patients from the last few days; after explaining to them that you had no memory before coming to the hospital, they felt sorry that it happened. So instead, they would tell _you_ of their moments back then. Before any of the health issues and injuries took over.

"And they accepted you and everything?"

"It..." You bit the top lip. "It seems like it."

"Then you followed my advice then; making friends isn't that bad once you get through it." He crossed his arms, his lips forming a smirk.

"I know, but I still need to get to know them more." You resisted the random urge to roll your eyes.

"Whatever you say." He was about to get up and to leave before sitting back down. "Hey, do you mind if I sleep next to you for a bit."

That sudden question made your cheeks colour once again. "S-Seriously?!" Heat rushed into your face once more as the gears in your mind processed the very thoughts of you and Jack together in bed over and over. _You_. _Jack_. _Together_. _In_. _Bed_...

"Well, yeah. How bad could it be?"

As much as you found this sort of thing very unusual and.. hot, you wondered how much you can handle it. Also, it would be nice to have him stay by your side longer... "Ok. You can sleep with me." You slowly nodded; this will take a _long_ time to get used to, sleeping with another person.

Gently turning yourself, you moved over so that Jack will have room to lie down. The bed felt small, but he didn't seem to mind it. He kept giving off light caresses, calming your nerves down. Sometimes you would feel his cold lips on them, the contacts everlasting but fleet. Like snowflakes. This would've surprised you but since you thought it might be just something he normally does, you didn't protest.

Sighing quietly, you closed your eyes…

* * *

Something hot yet cold touched your skin as you slept, forcing your voice to turn into moans as they lowered into an octave. You felt yourself blushing for the second time and as cold-tinged heat invaded your body, you had to muffle your groans with the pillow...

It never left your side, not one bit.


	22. Bruises and Bitemarks

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

The scream caused you to be startled from your sleep, resulting in your head bumping harshly on the cold metal rails of the headboard. It was morning and the scream made it a totally bad wake-up call.

"Oww…." You covered your head with your hands, as if to hide the reddish mark growing on your forehead. "Katiya, you scared me!"

"B-But-!" With an exaggerated sigh, Katiya knew that it wasn't going to end well. "I'm sorry but your skin's like, all red and-"

Shocked at Katiya's words, you started to examine every inch of your skin. Sure enough, there were red marks _everywhere. _Some on the column of your neck, some on your cheeks, a few on the arms, one of the right leg… but the ones that stood out most were the ones in your nose and the shell of your ears. Just like from last time, but not due to physical attacks or harsh contact. They were all a faded pink, blushing towards a bright red. There were even bite marks where teeth grazed against the skin. Whatever caused these made them completely different.

At least you didn't have any in your chest. Or in… other certain places.

"What caused this?" She demanded in a frustrated tone, wanting an immediate answer.

"I- I don't know! *cough* It just happened! I don't remember anything!" You tried to reason. It was true; other than letting Jack comfort you as you slept, you can't remember anything else last night.

"Did she get bit by a mosquito?" Eon asked the stubborn girl innocently, acting completely naïve. Katiya shot him a glare but said nothing.

"Mosquitoes… really?" She deadpanned; she looked as if she wanted to facepalm.

"Maybe it was a vampire?" Sinae suggested this time.

"That's crazy, Sinae! Vampire bites look more like holes with blood! Besides, [_Name_]'s look more like- uh…"

"Bruises?" You attempted to finish.

"Yeah, bruises! Wait, now that I think about it, maybe [_Name_] just fell down or something.." She peered over to some of the marks, examining them. "Yep, they're totally bruises." Katiya concluded, going back to one of her 'Dear Dumb Diary' books.

But were they bruises…? Or something completely different?


	23. Recognition

To your surprise, the strange bruises were gone about an hour later. It all happened in an instant, no doubt about it. Unlike the ones that first imprinted your skin, these vanished quickly as they left behind little evidence of its existence. As of now, you were back to having remains from stitches on your body and bandaged cuts on your face. Nothing else.

* * *

Anyway, you were just glad that none of the doctors or nurses encountered any of them. Right now, they were occupied with a different activity. Not cutting off organs, not cleaning up blood, not attaching tubes and machines on bodies, nothing. Instead, you saw them hanging up tiny colourful lights, pinning up decorations of snowflakes, stars, and frilly bows. You also happened to spot a pine tree propped up with tinsel, ornaments, pinecones, and more tiny lights that decorated the branches. An angel was placed on top of the tree, illuminated the entire ward with its colour-changing wings and dress.

"Wow… there's gonna be a Christmas tree here!" Eon suddenly exclaimed, his eyes wide with amazement.

"OMG, it's nearly Christmas! I almost like, totally forgot about it!"

"I wonder if Santa will visit us here…"

"Sweet tree!"

"I know what I want as a gift this year!"

The other patients sure were excited and giddy when the tree and the decorations appeared, with their eyes twinkling like stars and they chattered with energy and spirit. You, however, just stared at the surroundings with burning curiosity and a strange familiar feeling rushing into your head…

Despite scribbling down his list of randomly listed toys and other objects, Lucio realized that you were the only one in the room spacing out as you gazed everything. "Hey [_Name_]? Do you… know what Christmas is?" He asked from the folds of the never-ending list.

"Christmas..?" You extended the pronunciation of the name, letting it roll on your tongue. You tried to remember if Christmas had something to do with your past, if you were previously involved in it. And then you said it, "Christmas… is the holiday when we give… gifts to each other. *cough* To spend time with people. They also receive presents under the Christmas tree on Christmas Day."

Wait… did those words appear from your lips as if by magic? Did you know what Christmas was all along? Was it the first thing that came to you in your head? Or you just had nothing else to say…?

"…Wow, [_Name_]." Was all he, Ivanko, and Sinae could breathe out. "How'd you remember all that?" Lucio questioned. "I mean, I know that you didn't remember much and everything but this-"

"I don't know; it just came to me. Whether I see something, I can remember what it is, how it works, or who it is…."

And then the next thing you knew, you were assaulted by a crowd of patients shoving random objects at you as they tried to get you to uncover what you knew about each and every item. You said whatever you could without coughing so much and you memorized the best you could, but still, there was no personal connection from the objects presented to you. _Nothing at all_. You knew or sense how almost everything functioned in the world, but it would take you a while to get fully accustomed to them, with or without memories.

* * *

**Note: This reader-insert takes place from November-December, which is why Christmas is listed here.**

**Since Rise of the Guardians premiered on November. 21, 2012 (for me, that happened on a Wednesday), the movie itself took place during Easter (late March-early April?), approximately between 2010-2012 (the movie started filming in January 1st, 2010). In this case, however, the events of this story took place AFTER the events of the movie. But if the movie played during 2012 (year when movie premiered as well as original year this story started), you can use that year, eventually leading to 2013. IF you want to change the year, that's fine. Just make sure it's modern day, though.**


	24. Snow Sculptures and Snowmen

"-and that's what happened." You finally finished telling your story of the day, which was the discovery of remembering the functions of every object and the identities of the people presented, as mentioned from earlier. Although you were proud of yourself of having this advantage preserved before your memory loss, you were a little bit annoyed every time a toy or a book was shoved in your visions, preventing you to focus on everything else. You would try to persuade the patients to stop (at least for now), but that didn't happen until sometime at night, when they eyed your groan as you hid your head under the pillow. Eventually, they called it quits.

"Hmm… so that must be how your mind works now, huh?" Jack was sitting down cross-legged, lost in his deep train of thought.

"What?"

"Uh.. nothing! It's nothing!" He snapped out of his reverie, jolting up in surprise. "I was thinking about wanting to play out in the snow again…" He suddenly got up, grabbing your hand and leading you out of the Children's Ward.

"Where are we going?" You asked in confusion; what was he up to this time?

"Heading out." Was what he said. Then he looked at you with a smirk. "And I'm gonna show you another fun way to use snow."

* * *

Sure enough, you and Jack were back at the white wonderland that dominated the Earth. You were dressed up in different winter clothes, however, as you were decked out in an orange coat with fur trim and white buttons, red hat, white mittens, red scarf, and dark brown boots. Jack only wore the same boots from last time, ignoring the cold sinking into his blue hoodie. You tried to run in order to catch up with him but you didn't expect to fall down, as the air and gravity plunged you into the snow. As a result, your head hit the frozen ground underneath the snow, triggering the pain inside.

"Oww…!" You softly whined, attempted to keep your head intact as you stood up. The pain made your right temple flare up in heat and your eyes were pricked with droplets of tears.

"[_Name_]? Are you ok?!" He ran over to your side, growing concerned. His icy fingers ran over to the damaged area, causing you to flinch as you looked at him.

"I… I hit my head- *cough* while I fell down…" You weakly said, trying very hard not to cry. As mentioned earlier, you wouldn't cry in front of everybody else, especially him. It was getting difficult though, as the pain grew worse.

"Aww.. don't worry, [_Name_]. It'll be ok." He reassured you before he, to your surprise, placed a cold kiss on your temple. The icy touch of his lips made the pain and the heat dissolve immediately, as if it never existed.

"Better?" He asked. You nodded in reply before running off with him again. He led you to a snow-covered clearing, this one smaller considering land mass. It wasn't as big as you expected, but there was still enough room for the both of you to move around.

"Ok, you can make snowballs out of snow… but did you know that you can also make other stuff with it?" He scooped up a pile of snow, sculpting it like clay. To your amazement, it didn't melt under his fingers as water. It stayed intact and stable in his hands. He was working so fast that you could barely see what he created. Then, with his hands outstretched, came a little creature materialized out of snow.

"This is a snow sculpture, in case you're wondering. Can you guess what this is?" He gave a mischievous smile, as if he was hiding his amusement at seeing your innocent face.

The snow sculpture had long ears standing upright, a small snout, short legs, whiskers, and a circular tail… you've seen this before, you would remind yourself, but what could it be?

"A bunny rabbit…?" You guessed. If you focused long enough, you swore that you saw the creature twitching its nose, ears, and tail…

"Yep," He grinned. "You got it right. Now try to make one."

"Make… my own rabbit?"

"Exactly."

Gathering up some snow in your mitten-covered hands, you tried to sculpt it the way he did it, all while desperately attempting to remember what a rabbit looked like. Plump body, round tail, long and floppy ears….

"Like this?" You asked as you revealed your own creation, which you thought wasn't as brilliant as you hoped. The fur was a bit lumpy from the fingers and the ears were lopsided. But other than that…

"Perfect. Ok, now watch this." Another snow sculpture was coming, as the fingers worked while their magic took place. As it was finished, it now transformed into a-

"A fish?" Another nod came from Jack, leaving you to indicate that he meant 'yes'. You gathered up more snow in order to copy him. The fish, you realized, was actually an animal adapted to live on _water_, not land. It also had no legs, scales, gills, and an odd-shaped tail…

"Hm… not bad." He observed as he tilted his head. "You forgot the eyes though."

You re-examined the fish sculpture and realized that you didn't put the eyes in! Why didn't you see that?! Finding two tiny pinecones, you hurriedly stuck them at the sides of the fishy face. "Got them."

This went on for a couple rounds, as Jack made a few more mini snow sculptures. Every time he made you, he would get you to do the same. There was a racecar, a bird, a fairy, and even a skyscraper! Many times your hands would endure the snow as it worked. It was difficult enough while wearing mittens (since there were no fingers), but sculpting the snow with bare hands made your fingers _burn_. No kidding.

Right now, he was building up a small snowball by rolling it on the snow-covered ground, causing it to grow bigger, heavier, and wider. Every time it grew, he had to use up more strength as he pushed harder and harder. The snowball was easier to push around if it was small, but not so much when it was immense.

"What are you- *cough* doing?" You asked with curiosity.

"Building a snowman." He replied between short pants. "Wanna help me?"

"Ok." You rushed over to his side, finding yourself pushing the growing snowball forward as it built up more and more every minute.

A second snowball was made, this one using up less time and snow compared to the first. He placed the small snowball on top of the big snowball, making the shape resemble a person with a head and body. Adding two branches as arms, three small pinecones as the eyes and the nose, and a curved twig for the mouth, he created the facial features in the snowman's face.

He whistled a low whistle. "Impressive," He said before pausing a moment. "but I think it needs something."

You scanned the partly white ground, searching for whatever it was the snowman might be missing. And then you found it; three small pieces of chiseled-out snow, leftover from your own snow sculptures. Delicately picking them up, you sanded them into tiny round snowballs before sticking them onto the snowman's chest, vertically placed row by row. Stepping back, you admired the result; a snowman stood in yours and Jack's place, with a smiling mouth, dark brown pinecone eyes, and white buttons resembling those from a coat.

"Much better." You said with a satisfied sigh. "I thought that it needed… buttons; they look nice."

A glimpse of the white-haired teenager's grin was your response; he must've been thinking the same way.


	25. Jack's Realization

Despite the sleepiness still drugging your head this morning, you were alert enough to watch the activities going on from the other patients. As of now, Lucio and Eon were pretending to dive bomb the farm animals with the toy airplanes they were playing. Ivanko was solving a puzzle as the jumbled-up pieces were slowly connected together to form a picture. Katiya, on the other hand, had bundles of garments strewn around in her hospital bed. The clothing beyond the hospital grounds. She was dressing up Sinae like a life-sized doll with her clothes, constantly changing accessories or adjusting the hems of the fabric.

From what you saw from observation, they all seemed content with whatever they were doing. As much as you want to join one of them, you didn't want to disturb the tranquility. Besides, your senses weren't fully awake yet.

You settled down on your own hospital bed, now staring at the faded white ceiling; maybe watching it would give you the strength to fully wake up without falling asleep.

* * *

"_Oy_! _GET BACK HERE_, _FROSTBITE_~!"

_As the immense rabbit from behind hopped after him_, _Jack laughed gleefully at the sight of Bunny_'_s irritated face_; _apparently_, _he created a magical greyhound straight from his palms when he wasn_'_t looking and commanded it to chase him all over his warren. The reactions_? _HILARIOUS. He wanted to shed icy tears of joy._

_Naughty list or not_, _his prank was just too fun to reject._

_Anyways_, _he couldn_'_t stay too long to annoy Bunny further_, _as he planned to create a snow day in London_, _England_, _Reykjavik_, _Iceland_, _and the two cities from Japan_, _Tokyo and Osaka. So after sticking his tongue out at the fellow Guardian_, _he took off in a flash_.

* * *

_Now that he was done with those places_, _Jack decided to head over to the North Pole_, _where North and the yetis were probably occupied with creating the toys and gadgets since Christmas was coming. Maybe by the time he arrived_, _he_'_ll get to snack on the cookies later on_, _as they were uniquely delicious._

_After helping North with carving the toy prototypes _(_he mentioned something about needing extra assistance_, _but he was sure that he just wanted him to keep his hands more occupied in case of future mischief_), _he sat down cross_-_legged on the floor_, _nibbling on an icebox cookie while taking a sip of eggnog._ _He was already thinking of tucking a few batches away in his hoodie pocket_, _sneaking a couple of them so that you_'_ll get to try them. Perhaps that he should grab some extras for Jamie and Sophie_, _too_...

_Finished with his snack and going over to the streets of Toronto_, _Ontario _(_that was in Canada, by the way_)_ he reminisced on the outings he arranged for you back at Sparrow Hospital. It was enjoyable seeing your shocked and amazed face every time you played outside. Of how you smiled and how you focused with increasing concentration_, _it was fascinating_._ It was as if you_'_d never experienced life beyond the inside world. The moment you experienced the extreme trills and suspense of a toboggan ride or the tranquility and peace of making a snow angel_, _he cannot help but to smile. A surprisingly warm feeling tainted his cold yet fun_-_loving heart and he found himself craving for it. Craving for YOU_, _to be honest. And who said being believed on is a bad thing-_

_WAIT. A. MINUTE-_

_KLANGGGG_!

_The next thing Jack knew_, _he found himself crashing his head on a really tall building. Or to be specific_, _THE CN TOWER._

"_Ugh… my head._" _It was embarrassing_, _not expecting to bump onto things without looking for directions. But then again_, _Tooth did the similar thing the night he and the other Guardians helped her collect the teeth. In her case_, _however_, _she got hit by a Chinese billboard advertising toothpaste in Shanghai. He rubbed his head_, _half_-_expecting a huge bump forming on his pale forehead. Despite the inflicting pain from the injury_, _that did not prevent this newborn question invading his head_:

_You lost your memories_… _so how the heck did you BELIEVE in him_?


	26. Movie Night and Drawing Contest

Movie night tonight; one of the nurses in the hospital brought over a DVD containing a movie in which she watched when she was a kid. You and the other patients were viewing "Jack Frost". According to the nurse, there were several movies, TV shows, songs, and stories with different interpretations of this winter spirit. In this version, he fell in love with a human girl and wanted to be human. Just like her. Father Winter, another character from the movie, granted his wish, but if he doesn't get a house, a bag of gold, and a wife by the first sign of spring, he will end up as a sprite again. So far, the movie itself was very interesting; the kid-friendly stop-motion and animation brought charm as the minutes passed and the movie played.

"Does he really look like this?" You found yourself saying.

"Who? Jack Frost?" Katiya questioned in a hushed voice.

"Um… yeah?" You weren't completely sure of what you're saying anymore, but you wanted to know the answer anyway.

"….I don't know; never thought about it." She finally said after a couple minutes later of watching the movie.

"Me neither." Were the words everyone else had said after her.

"Then who is- *cough* Jack Frost?" As you asked that question, you meant Jack Frost, the personification of frost and cold weather. You didn't really think clearly on _which_ one you referred to.

"He's the one responsible for making winter so cold and… frosty. He created frost and stuff." Ivanko explained, unable to take his eyes away from the TV screen.

"He's also mischevious; he loves to do stuff without rules. He's so carefree and happy whenever he makes mischief without limits." Sinae added in.

"People usually think of him as evil for some reason." Lucio put in. "But he's also either a good guy or a neutral entity."

Eon turned to you and asked, "You know the saying 'Jack Frost is nipping your nose?', [_Name_]?"

Obviously, you still cannot remember anything involving your past life. But something about the figure of speech sounded strangely familiar, as well as the immortal being within the phrase. Other than that, however, there was no real significance of any familiarity. "No, but what does- *cough* 'nipping' mean?"

The other patients looked at each other, then at you, and then back to each other again. They were all asking each other mental questions about that particular subject. Do they know what nipping meant?

"Well, in this case, nipping can be either a sharp, painful squeeze-" Katiya gave herself a sharp pinch for emphasis, wincing at the brief moment of pain.

"Or a not-so-damaging bite-" Now she started to inflict a small bite on Lucio's finger, in which he tried to pull it away from her wrath.

"Hey, quit it!" He exclaimed in annoyance.

"Ok, ok. Sheesh. Sorry, Lucio." Katiya let out a puff of breath before turning to your direction again. "A nip can also be a chilly feeling in sensitive places, which makes them cold."

At the mention of this definition, you suddenly remembered the icy feeling in your nose, earlobes, and toes you came in contact with when Jack first visited you in the Children's Ward. Perhaps this was what she meant by nipping? Did that mean someone like Jack Frost (the winter spirit) actually nipped those parts of your body while you were sleeping…?

"Are his nips painful?" You then asked.

"I don't know, but I sure hope not." Was all the girly-girl could say. With a sigh, you returned to focusing on the movie, a new and unfamiliar scene playing its way on the TV.

After the movie was over (it was good, by the way, but you just wished… that there would be a happier ending in there; you felt sorry for the Jack Frost in the movie), you climbed back into the hospital bed. You had to go to the bathroom to pee for a moment, only to arrive again with everyone else debating on an interesting question.

The other patients kept asking each other this question, which was 'What does Jack Frost _actually_ look like?'

"I think he looks old." Was Katiya's opinion.

"Nuh-uh, I think he looks like the one from the movie." Eon disagreed.

"What?! He can't be that young! Maybe he's a evil grown-up or something, like from 'Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause'." Lucio exclaimed.

"Weird, I imagined him as a little kid; kinda like Eon." Sinae said.

"That can't be! Maybe he's a wizard…." Ivanko muttered as he attempted to sort out the fiction from reality.

There was a long moment of silence after the heated debate. You also pondered over the question; what _does _he look like? Was he a good guy like from the movie? Or evil like from other sources of media? Was he young or old? Did he even exist…?

But before you could even express your opinion, one of the patients announced loudly, saying, "LET'S DO A DRAWING CONTEST! WHOEVER'S THE BEST WILL WIN!"

Without further delay, you and the patients started the contest.

It was Sinae's idea, since she was started to get fed up with the constant arguing from everyone else. She also did some drawings in her spare time so it seemed to be a good idea. Whoever drew the best possible design of what Jack Frost (the winter spirit) looked like would win.

It took you a while to figure out to sketch the human body; most of the time, you drew doodles or objects such as flowers, robots, or even the winter scenery you last stepped foot in. But never a full set containing a head, body, arms, and legs… luckily for you, you managed to pull it off. The same was with the clothing, creases, position, and hair.

As you became satisfied with the sketch, you picked up one of the crayons. Your mind drifted, however, as you thought about the strange connection. I mean, there was Jack Frost; the one who brought winter to the world and seemed to be the villainous-type (even though from the movie you saw, he was the good guy). He was the one who made winter in the deadly cold state and he created violent blizzards.

And then there was _your _Jack Frost; the one who visited you almost every day in the hospital, who checked up on you, who helped you to be entertained from boredom, and who wanted to get to know you by the many conversations you two made…. he was probably the mischievous type but at least he wasn't cold as… well, you know, ice. He was the one who saved you from drowning, dying in the streets somewhere in Michigan, and for some reason, pulling you from the rivers of loneliness in a boat of solitude (the last part was a literary form of isolation you just learned, but you got the idea). Even if he really a loner, he seemed to be kinder than he looked like at first glance. And fun-loving, too.

Absentmindedly, you began to fix some things in your drawing before starting to colour.

The drawings were passed around a few minutes later but no one found yours yet.


	27. Admittance

"..[_Name_]? What kind of drawing was this?

A familiar voice snapped you out of your reverie sometime later before bedtime; it was Lucio. You turned to him with a curious eye. "What do you mean?"

"Wasn't this the drawing you drew for the contest?" He asked suspiciously. He showed you the picture… _that drawing you drew of Jack_! But it was actually _your_ Jack Frost! _Your friend_!

"Uh… yeah? I think it is. Did I drew it that bad?"

"What! No, no, no! Don't take it the wrong way! I think it was good!" Katiya reasoned.

"He's pretty." Eon piped up. Even Sinae and Ivanko nodded.

"Then why are you guys- *cough* concerned about my drawing?" You raised an eyebrow.

There was silence in your words, uncertain of how to reply. They looked at each other before turning back to you.

The drawing in their hands consisted of a teenage boy wearing an azure hoodie with elaborate white details on the edges and brown pants edged with blue powder torn halfway at the shin. He was barefoot, as if the cold didn't bother him. His silvery white hair was spiked at the tips and his pure blue eyes intensified while his white jade skin gleamed. He appeared to be what seemed like floating on air, as he fingered the fern frost appearing on the glass of a window. Snowflakes dotted the paper and seemed to dance around in his presence.

"…Do you think Jack Frost looks like this, [_Name_]?" Sinae finally asked.

It took you a moment to realize that Sinae was talking about the personification of winter himself. You answered with, "Maybe… maybe not. But my friend looks exactly like the one in my drawing and-". Realizing what you just said, you gasped and closed your mouth to prevent anything else escaping from your lips.

"_Oh no__…__ what was I thinking_? _I got carried away_!" You thought in immediate guilt. "_I shouldn't have mentioned him__…__ I shouldn't__….._"

"You mean… _your _friend's name is also Jack Frost?" _And_ he looks like the one in your drawing?" Katiya questioned.

"I-" A sigh; there was probably no turning back now. "Yes. Yes, I have a friend named Jack Frost." You confessed.

Eon tilted his head, completely confused. "I thought you can't remember anything… or anybody."

"Yeah, I know. *cough* But he… he visits me in the hospital at night. He's also the one who saved me from drowning…" You said. You also explained about what you two do at night whenever he visited, excluding the times you went outside in the snow (as you don't want any of them to be jealous).

"….You think that you can introduce us to him?" Sinae finally asked after you were finished.

"I..." You sighed, realizing that other than sneaking out of the Children's Ward, this must be another risk that you'll have to take. "Maybe."

* * *

"Hey [_Name_]! How's it going?" Jack greeted as he visited later at night. Again, everyone else didn't hear him coming as they slept. Even if he had bare feet, the chills transferred from the linoleum floor didn't affect him. He just strutted into the Children's Ward as if nothing ever happened. No matter the number of nights it happened, you still cannot help but to wonder why…

"It's fine." You replied as you fiddled with the paper bracelet on your right wrist. "The other patients and I- *cough* watched a movie a few hours ago."

"Oh really?" He cocked an eyebrow. "Which one?"

You slowly walked over to the drawer next to Eon's hospital bed, where the DVD was. Obtaining it, you went over to where Jack was sitting, cross-legged on your own bed. "This one." You presented the DVD to him as he observed its contents.

"Was it good?" He asked. You nodded before staring at the snowflakes falling outside. He examined the contents of the DVD a lot and was in deep thoughts. Or so you thought, anyway. Every once in a while, his face would turn amused, then annoyed, shifting into a grossed-out state, only to catch him silently laughing. Did he watch the movie himself… and didn't like it? Or did he actually like but didn't admit it? You weren't sure, as he immediately shook the reactions off as soon as you caught his gaze.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me. You should try these cookies; they're really good." He fished out something from his hoodie pocket; a batch of freshly-baked cookies, ranging from icebox to shortbread, chocolate chip to Danish butter cookies, securely wrapped up in a red, green, and white napkin.

"Cookies?" Your eyes widened at the surprise revealed in his hands; you've never had cookies as part of the hospital food, let alone trying one. You'd heard of them but didn't remember tasting any. The delicious scents wafted into the air and made your mouth water.

With a shaky hand, you delicately took one of the cookies, a gingerbread cookie, and took a bite. The texture felt hard and well-built in your touch, but dissolved into softness inside your mouth. Tastes of sugar and mild spice sated your taste buds and made them linger on your tongue. It was… It was…

"Tastes good!" You cheered, grabbing another cookie and quietly yet eagerly eating it. Honestly, you never ate anything this delicious in your entire life. Ever since your first day at the Children's Ward, all your stomach consumed was bland and boring hospital food and those make you throw up (which, by the way, was happening less now). After munching on half of the offered cookies, your stomach was finally satisfied, never worrying too much about hunger or taste ever again.

He smirked. "I knew you'd like it; I heard that hospital food's awful so I thought that you would prefer to eat this kind of thing."

You nodded; maybe he heard about the conditions here in Sparrow Hospital, which allowed him to take advantages of discomforts like these to eventually make them more comforting for you. Then you remembered something as you wiped the crumbs off your lips.

"Jack, I.. I need to talk to you about something."

Raising a silvery white eyebrow in curiosity, he scooted over to your side, wrapping a cold arm around your shoulders. "Ok…. what is it? You can tell me anything."

Blushing a little at this unexpected form of contact, you stuttered a little as you asked the following question, "Do you- *cough* Do you p-prefer to come here at nighttime? Or in the day?"

"Night, 'cause it's quieter and more peaceful for me. What makes you say that, anyway?" He tried to question you with a teasing voice.

"I… I was just wondering if you could visit at daytime tomorrow," You pointed at the other patients, who were all sleeping very soundly with very little sound escaping their lips. "They wanted to meet you and-"

"Woah, woah, woah! Wait a minute!" Jack started to cut you off, his hands gesturing to you to slow down. He appeared to be shocked yet surprised at the same time. "Are you saying that those guys over there… actually want to _meet_ me? The one-and-only Jack Frost?"

You blinked in surprise, unsure of what he actually meant in that statement. "Yeah…?"

"…Did you tell them anything about me?" He asked after a moment.

"I told them about… *cough* I think I said something about the day you saved me from drowning, some of your visits… that was it. I didn't- *cough* say anything about the times we were outside." You explained.

"And they want to get to know me?"

"Yes."

"Hm…." Jack was now into sitting on the bed cross-legged; he was thinking very hard on what he should do about it and what to say. Now that you mentioned it though, you wondered about how others would react if they _do _meet him…

"Ok, fine. I'm gonna try to make it. I might come the day after tomorrow though, since I won't be around the next day… I'll meet them two days from now, but in the day." He finally answered, relieved at what his mind decided on without stress or guilt. You grinned at his words.

* * *

_Sometimes_, _Jack would wonder if being believed on was either a good thing or a bad thing_; _if he was believed_, _then people can actually see him as a normal person_. _He would also be able to make new friends_, _gain support and popularity from his snow days_, _be loved_, _and even gain attention from not just the children_, _but the teenagers and grown_-_ups as well. But then there_'_s a chance that teenage girls _(_or guys_) _would gather up as a mob in order to chase him for themselves. On the other hand_, _if people didn_'_t believe in him_, _he would be invisible_, _being walked_-_on_, _lonely_, _hated_, _and more spiteful and mean compared to what he really was. But he would play pranks without being caught and he won_'_t have to worry about being noticed as a criminal or something_…

_In this case_, _he was still confused at the question of how you believed in him despite the memory loss_, _but also curious of why would Eon_, _Lucio_, _Katiya_, _Ivanko_, _and Sinae want to meet him if they didn_'_t know what he really was or that they can only see him via belief_…

_But still_, _if this was what it will take to make you happy_, _he had to remind himself constantly as he arrived in Dusseldorf_, _Germany_, _he will do it. I mean_, _he_'_s the rebellious type so he_'_s gotta break at least one rule from his usual standards somehow. Besides_, _he hoped that the patients from the Children_'_s Ward actually believed in him due to the movie_…


	28. Exposure

Time started to drag once again, with the arrival of Jack's daytime visit coming closer hour by hour. It started to crawl like a worm, agonizingly slow and painfully long. After you told the other patients the next day, they were now anticipating for the moment he would appear; everywhere you looked, they all seemed to be twitching with impatience while looking like they would explode.

Right now, they were distracting themselves by watching whatever was featured on the TV. They used the remote to flip the channels from Cartoon Network to Discovery Channel, from Food Network to HGTV, and everything in between. They all appeared to be bored, as there were not many good shows to watch in this hour (2:00 PM, to be exact). They all ended up watching the news from NBC, merely observing the coverage from the outside world.

As one of the news coverage was over, a new one immediately started. Neither you nor the other would expect what was shown in there… until now.

"There was still no evidence of what happened to [_Full Name _(_First Name and Last Name_)]. In the meantime, there was an incident that happened sometime earlier in November near Lansing, Michigan. A girl was found bleeding and injured in the sidewalk near Lake Lansing. She was struggling to breathe and to walk when an ambulance from the nearby Sparrow Hospital discovered her while passing by. She also seemed to suffer from amnesia, as she lost most of her memories. While no mention of age, location of home, or family was obtained, she did adapt to the surroundings a little easier compared to most amnesiacs. No causes of the conditions were solved either, as neither the doctors working there cannot find what made them. The girl, whose name is [_Name_], is currently recovering and will by staying in the hospital until further notice…"

The TV screen was now currently revealing photographs of your physical stages, from the day you drowned to when you got your stitches. There were ones displaying your trimmed hair and skin without stitches and your current stage, which contained no bandages on your face (as you just got them removed). You didn't recognize yourself at first, having to look into a mirror not very often, but you were surprised to notice that before the drowning, you didn't expect to look _this_ terrible…

"[_Name_]….?" Sinae started to ask in a small voice.

"Yes?" Was all you could choke out despite the shock.

"..Do you think that the hospital leaked out your information to the public?"

"I- I don't know! Why would they-" Everyone else must've thought that hearing about your conditions on TV made you really sensitive, for they switched to Nickelodeon instead, watching 'Fairly Odd Parents'. As they watched Timmy grant a wish, they had worry in their eyes every time you stared at them.

In your opinion, maybe the hospital people thought that someone would eventually find you by sending the news station information about you missing, as it might be easier that way. It might work, you would say to yourself, but would the world actually pay attention? Or would they just reject you again, as if you don't have a place in the world…?


	29. More than Friends?

Luckily for you, the shock over seeing you featured on TV eventually wore off later in the day (it lasted until 6:00 PM, which made it 4 hours). Instead, it was replaced by the tedious minutes of waiting for Jack again. In the case of other patients, however, the concern was switched into excitement and impatience once again, meaning that everything was back to normal. Sort of…

As of now, there were no rumors going on about you. Neither were the paparazzi or tabloid articles published. However, you heard from the doctors and nurses talking about some of the other people's reactions to your unusual condition. It was not that they were enraged or anything; no, they were more confused by the minute. How _did _you turn out to be leaking out blood and carrying pain? Yours looked different from what a wrestler would gain after defeating a tough opponent or what a prisoner would have after being whipped, but there was no evidence of what caused them in the first place. In fact, you were a complete mystery to the outskirts of America (just be glad that the other countries didn't learn about this yet).

And you had to admit it; it felt unusual to be featured to the public by the media. As much as you felt grateful that Sparrow Hospital found a way to look for your possible parents or guardians, you had a bad feeling that traces of information would give away everything if not used wisely (or so you thought, anyway).

"Hey [_Name_]! You think Jack is like, totally hot?" Katiya called out from her hospital bed at one point.

"…Hot…..?" You cannot help but to ask. Do they mean hot as in they cannot resist the heat? Or were there other definitions for that word?

"Yeah, as in sexy, cute, good-looking…"

In your honesty, you didn't completely get what the word sexy meant. Cute, on the other hand, was something you can understand. The same goes for good-looking…

"Yes, he's hot." You found yourself saying, cheeks colouring as a result.

"Ha! I KNEW IT!" Lucio suddenly cried out. "You like him!"

"W-W-What?!" Now you felt your face growing hotter than you imagined. "What do you mean, 'I like him'?" You don't understand what he meant..

"Every time you say stuff about him, you blush a lot. You also get nervous, fidget a lot, thinking that he's sexy…" Lucio went on and on, never stopping. The words he just said made you fluster a lot as you tried to form the words.

"I-It's not like that! He's only my friend… uh, I mean, _best_ friend." You had to correct yourself, since Jack was actually more than just a friend. He might be more than that… but it was hard to tell, as Lucio's words invaded your systems. They made you embarrassed so badly that you had to hide your face with the pillow. You didn't see the gleam of confirmation and hope in the other's eyes, as they suspected that your connection to him was stronger than you thought…

**Note: I forgot to mention that Eon, Lucio, Katiya, Ivanko, and Sinae are actually… OCs, sort of. They do belong to me, but they're more like side characters since they're the other occupants of the hospital besides the doctors and nurses. Side characters like these may appear in possible sequels, fyi.**


	30. Daytime Visit

By the time Jack's next visit came… you started to regret it for some reason.

As soon as he entered the hospital room the next morning, the patients were staring at Jack as if he was one of those strict-looking teachers from Katiya's 'Dear Dumb Diary' books (yes, she did let you read of them). He was confused at first.. until he realized that it soon resulted in many squeals of delight from Katiya and Sinae as well as a "OH MY GOD!" each from Lucio, Ivanko, and Eon. They tried to hug him, touch him… that kind of stuff. It was clear that by first sight, he drew the most attention out of every visitor in the hospital. You bet that the other patients from different rooms might as well as be jealous. And it was true; Jack's arrival quickly became a riot.

"HEY, HEY, HEY! GIVE HIM A BREAK ALREADY!" You tried to yell, hoping to give Jack more room for himself as well as a path to walk on. "EVEN HE NEEDS AIR, YOU KNOW!"

Startled at your words, everyone else went back into their beds. Jack, who let out a sigh of relief, managed his way towards your side. He mouthed out a 'Thanks' before focusing on everyone else.

"Guys," you started. "this is Jack Frost; the one who I told you about from the day before yesterday. He was the one who brought me here. Jack, this is-"

"Eon, Katiya, Sinae, Ivanko, and Lucio. Nice to meet you all." He beat you to it, you realized as he smirked at your direction. The others were surprised that he knew their names already.

For a while, the other patients had been asking Jack many questions as he replied to them as much as he could.

"You must be really brave to save [_Name_] from something so terrifying… weren't you afraid?" Sinae asked at one point.

"A little." He admitted sheepishly. "But I just don't want her to die or anything."

"Your hair's so white…. did you dye it or something?" Katiya questioned as she stroked one of the silvery hair strands from his head; it looked freshly sharp yet it felt so soft at the same time. From the motions she made, he would've been flattered.

"Maybe~" He said in a teasing voice. "But it's the moon's natural gift."

"How often do you visit [_Name_]?" Ivanko piped up.

"Almost every day; she asked for it." He shrugged. "But then again, I enjoy being with her as much as with the other kids."

From what you could tell, most of the questions were all about you and Jack only; those made you blush furiously all over again. Nevertheless, everyone else seemed to get along with him pretty well, even as you watched his cold fingers tickle Eon's sides with mischievousness.

"Jack~" Katiya said in the most seductive voice she could make. "Do you have a crush on anybody?"

He spluttered, his own cheeks dusted with blush. "A crush? On a... On a girl?" He tried to ask.

"Yeah, you know. A girlfriend or something." Ivanko stated.

"Hahaha, yeah, about that..." He ran his fingers over his head, finding difficulty on how to answer this question without sending you to further embarrassment. He'd never thought much about it, not even towards you or the other girls that believed in him...

"I don't have... a crush.. on... anybody." Was all he could say in a slow and agonizingly painful voice. There, that was the best he could come up with.

"You don't?" You now found yourself saying.

"No. I don't."

"Oh... but you and [_Name_] look so cute together!" Sinae exclaimed.

"Uh... thank you?" He managed to say awkwardly. Now _that_ was something you and Jack never expected from the relationship you two shared. When you thought about it, however, you two seemed to work well together so far. But still, you'd never gave much thought of how either of you can connect...

"Hey Jack? Wanna see the drawings we drew earlier?" Eon finally broke the silence with his bell-like voice. "You should see what we did, especially [_Name_]'s."

He managed to smile a bit as he relaxed. "Sure, kid. I'll check 'em out."


	31. Winter's First Kiss of Frost

"…How long are you planning to stay, Jack?" Ivanko asked sometime later. He was reading an Avengers comic book while watching you, Jack, Lucio, and Katiya outdoing each other in a cartwheeling contest. You had never done cartwheeling, which was an acrobatic movement in which the body gets turned sideways onto the hands, only to have it over onto the feet again, but you kept trying over and over again despite the many losses in each rounds. But you just wanted to get them right, no matter how many times you would win or lose.

"I dunno, actually." Jack tried to say between each cartwheel and handspring, ending up in the lead with Katiya behind him. "Maybe- for- five more- minutes. Gah!" He finally collapsed on the floor next to you, panting in exhaustion; he won almost all of them, but Katiya just beat him this round. Her smile turned smug and she did a victorious fist-pump.

"What's going on here?" A voice suddenly echoed the room, interrupting the fun and games that took place. Did a doctor or nurse overhear them?

But it wasn't either of them, for somebody else had arrived.

_It was Alis_.

She looked slightly different from the last encounter you had with her, for she didn't wear a long white coat like one of the doctor's. Instead, she wore a cardigan with turquoise and navy blue stripes under a white blouse and black skinny jeans. She also wore gray winter boots, white mittens, and a sky blue scarf around her neck. Her eyes looked alert yet curious at the same time.

"We are… er….." Sinae cannot find the words to form the complete sentence as she spoke.

"Playing?" Alis guessed. Surprised at her correct answer, you and the others did nothing but to nod.

"Watcha doin' here?" Lucio asked.

Alis explained, "MSU's closed for the holidays, so I'm just coming over to see how everyone's doing. I mean, I'm not assigned to take care of anyone at the moment, but there's a chance that the doctors here will need back-up."

You rose up from the floor, helping Lucio and Katiya to clean up the toys, books, and games that were scattered around in the linoleum floor. Part of you desired to just leave the mess and clean up later, but then there would be the chance of a nurse tripping in one of them, causing her to puff out angry clouds of steam. And as Katiya would put it, seeing a nurse getting angry ain't all that pretty.

As Alis hung up her scarf from the nearby coat hanger, she spotted Jack carrying a pile of colouring books to the nearby bookshelf. "And you are….?"

Jack started to halt in his movement, almost forgetting that Alis was in the room. His eyes widened for a moment, but then cleared his throat before heading over to introduce himself. "Ah, I'm Jack. Nice to meet you." He shook her hand.

She nodded after she released her hand. "And I'm Alis. Are you a patient here?"

"Haha, no; I'm actually a visitor here. For now, anyway."

"Oh… I see."

Alis hung around for a bit, but couldn't stay very long since her parents were back from work, she said. Just before she left though, you had to ask her something very important… something that you kept questioning to yourself after she left.

"Alis? Can I… *cough* ask you something?" You started to ask with hesitance, fingers tangled in the folds of your hospital gown.

"Hm? Oh sure, [_Name_]. What is it?" The university student asked as she started to wind her scarf around her neck.

"You… told me something about 'the winter's first kiss of frost'… what is it?" You attempted to ask as you tried to simplify the question from your jumble of scrambled words and phrases.

"Yeah, what is it?" Eon started to echo out. The other patients were also interested in whatever Alis mentioned earlier.

Alis sat down on your hospital bed, her legs dangling around the foot of the bed. "Well, winter's first kiss of frost is typically another way of saying that autumn's over and winter's coming. Normally, frost is the first time that arrives in winter before snow and stuff."

"That's what it was?" You finally said after her short explanation. Somehow, it did make sense with the frost itself, as it usually arrived before snow and colder temperatures… but you cannot help but to wonder if there were other meanings besides this. Not that you were dissatisfied with the answer, you were only…. curious.

At the corner of your eye, Jack appeared to contain a strange feeling in your direction. He seemed to be pleading, maybe confused and desperate…

"Pretty much." She shrugged before grabbing her jacket, a beige-coloured Burberry trench coat, and putting it on. "Anyways, gotta go! I'll see you guys later!" The last thing she said, however, was directed towards Jack, which was, "It was nice meeting you too."

Sometime later, Jack had to leave as well. Before setting his foot outside the door, he went over to your side and kissed your cheek, lips chilled yet feathery.

"Thanks for letting me meet the other patients." He said. "I'll meet you again tomorrow night."

You nodded before waving him goodbye as he left. Your cheeks felt completely warm, except at the area where he kissed it. You had to admit, it was nice to have his company in the day as well as night. And at least he got along with everyone else in the Children's Ward. At mind's first image, you thought that he wouldn't like to be near people, considering his icy-looking exterior. But really, he seemed to make you melt with an algid core throbbing at the center somewhere.

You also cannot help but to realize that not only did you manage to solve the mystery of winter's first kiss of frost, but you were starting to question about the reason why Jack Frost (winter spirit) was involved in this…

"_Wait_," Your thoughts were interrupted with a pause. "_Jack looked a little odd when Alis told me about it_…"

Why was he like that, you don't know. But then again, like your lost memories, it would take you a while to fully understand him…

* * *

**Note: Lansing, Michigan is actually a real city while Lake Lansing is a real lake nearby the place. Sparrow Hospital is a real hospital. **


	32. Warmth in the Cold Heart

_Jack was surprised_, _he had to admit it_. _Alis and the other patients were able to contain enough belief to see him in person. Maybe it came from the movie you talked about earlier_. _Or perhaps from other sources_, _such as other movies_, _books_, _songs_, _or poems_. _Or did they already believe in him_? _Even if other people visualized him in a wrong matter_, _at least he was noticed. He still cannot understand_, _however_, _of how you were still able to see him even before the movie_. _Did you actually believe in him before the drowning_? _Or did you originally lost your belief only to slowly gain it before the memory loss_?

_He wasn_'_t actually sure how_, _but for one thing_, _you felt happier whenever you were with him. The same way goes for the other way around_, _with him possessing contentment as he visited you. Something pulsed_, _burned_, _and throbbed in his cold body_… _but what was it_? _He could recognize it_, _if he felt it hard enough_, _but it would take a while for it to dissolve in his possibly icy heart_…..

* * *

A few days passed and Jack went back to visiting you every night again, investigating for anyone who was awake before entering. Not much had changed, except for the fact that the patients would sometimes talk about him and tried to theorize what you two would do at night while they were sleeping.

"You think that Jack will be back again?" Katiya asked at one point, turning pages of a Vogue magazine. She looked dreamy as she mentioned his name.

"I… I think so. Why?" You _really_ didn't want to tell everyone what you would do during Jack's almost-frequent visits; if you did, everything would probably be chaotic.

"No reason." She shrugged, going back to the magazine as she read a relationship article.

"Do you think he'll like her better if she wears something.. prettier?" Sinae suddenly asked right out of the blue.

"O-M-G! THAT'S AN AWESOME IDEA, SINAE! WE SHOULD LIKE, TOTALLY DO THAT!" Katiya's squeals went up into a high pitch. Ivanko and Lucio raised their eyebrows at first, but then went back to the colouring book.

"Uhh… guys? What are you-"

With you being speechless, Katiya and Sinae did their work. You just sweatdropped and let them do their thing, whatever it was.


	33. Makeover?

"What colour do you think she'll like, Katiya?"

"I dunno… I mean, maybe she doesn't have a fave yet since she doesn't have much memory.."

"I… I like that one…"

"Hey, what about make-up? Should we use the peachy blush or-"

"Not a good idea; she looks better with a natural face."

"Even with all those excess cuts?!"

"…"

"Ok, fine. They're almost gone, anyway. Wonder which necklace looks better though…"

"Collars look better on her!"

"Hm… this bracelet needs adjusting.."

"Can she walk on stilettos?"

"I'll just pinch her cheeks to make blush or something….."

Not only Katiya and Sinae were involved in whatever plan they were scheming, but it appeared that even Eon, Lucio, and Ivanko joined in as they attempted to understand the full plan the girls came up with. You weren't completely certain of what they were all doing, but it sure involved a bag full of designer clothing (sometimes she wore her own clothes under her hospital gown, Katiya once said, since she was uncomfortable with the garments here), a smaller bag containing creamy substances, make-up, colourful semi-liquids (you later learned from Sinae that it was nail polish; people use it to paint their nails) in slim bottles, and lotions, a jewelry box full of accessories, a box containing an eclectic collection of shoes, and pieces of gauze leftover from the bandages.

You'd never experienced or took part in this activity before, but it did feel a tad bit strange. Maybe it was a normal thing outside the hospital…?

The doctors passing by raised their eyebrows at their antics, but said nothing as they walked away.


	34. Stunning Skaters

"Hi Jack. How do I look?"

Jack's ice-blue eyes grew wide at the sight of you today; you looked completely different. And by different, he meant amazingly different.

Instead of the hospital gown you normally dressed up in, you instead wore a chiffon asymmetrical dress that was charcoal black at top and creamy white in the bottom. You also had glittery white heels adorned with butterflies on your feet (Katiya said that those were the Cinderella shoes designed by the great Christian Louboutin), the pearly white colour complimenting how well the dress fitted, a little sophisticated yet feminine at the same time. Tiny clear rhinestones at the corner of your lids and the earlobes as well as pale pink lips graced the surface of your face. Tiny diamond hairpins swept up almost every hair strand to the back, those in the front framed your face and exposed your neck under the excess light. The paper bracelet was stripped off from your wrist, but a piece of gauze was wrapped around your leg with several strands of thin black ribbon tied into a bow, completing the look.

"Wow, [_Name_], you look… um, different today." Was the first thing he said, his eyes completely transfixed.

You blushed at his response, cheeks turning into a very soft pink. "Thanks. It was Katiya's and Sinae's idea; the clothes used to be Katiya's while Sinae did the makeup and hair. Eon, Lucio, and Ivanko helped, too. I'm not sure why…" You twirled a loose strand of hair around nervously, a ring with two diamond snowflakes on both ends adorned your finger as the hair strand was swirled around.

His physical features, you noted, displayed the words, '_For hospital patients_, _they did a good job_…', for he seemed to be immersed in your new look.

"You look…. You look…" He cleared his throat before formulating a clearer sentence. "You look _beautiful_. Heck, you're actually _stunning_!"

Now this statement forced your cheeks to change from soft pink to a pleasured red as they heated up despite the slightly frigid air. You even trembled at the very thought of being called _beautiful _or _stunning_. You weren't sure why. "Really?" Was all you could say at the moment.

"Of course, milady. Why wouldn't I give you such compliments?" Jack teased, taking hold of your right hand and gently turning it around, kissing the palm (instead of the hand) as he let his lips linger at the areas of the palm and fingertips before he slowly drew away…

Then the next thing you knew, he suddenly clasped his hand on yours as he immediately took you out of the hospital ward, not caring if anybody heard his footsteps or the dull _clunk_ sounds echoing from your shoes..

* * *

You later learned the reason why Jack just took you out once again (and for the third time now); apparently, he wanted to teach you how to ice-skate (you recalled that he told you that he was good at it), but was surprised at the sudden change of appearance. Nevertheless, he didn't mind of what you wore for this winter activity anyway (as long as you weren't cold). You _did _have to wear a grayish-black coat with a fur-trimmed hood over your dress though, since it was freezing out. Jack on the other hand, wore a khaki green military-style jacket (decorated with assorted badges and pins) and shorter black boots.

It was now easier to walk and run outside, despite the cold snow sinking into your new shoes or the height of the heels underneath (honestly, you had never walked around with those on). To your surprise, however, you didn't mind it (then again, you walked outside with bare feet). Neither did you mind the winter coat bundling up your body or the icy air chilling your once-heated face.

After a couple minutes of following him without tripping, you found yourself standing at the edge of what appeared to be a small pond. It seemed to be different from natural lakes or ponds, however, as there were no rocks or plants at the edge. It was also a little smaller than Lake Lansing, you noticed. So in this case, this frozen pond must've been made by somebody else.

"….Jack? I don't have ice-skates.." You realized as you wiggled the toes inside the heels, gesturing to your butterfly-covered feet. It was shocking enough to move around in ice with bare feet, but you guessed that it might the similar thing with shoes like stilettos…

"Oh, really?" An eyebrow was raised up, as if that subject implied something. "How come they're on your feet then?" Jack said as he pointed his finger down to where your feet were.

Confused, you looked down again. To your surprise, the heels were gone! Instead, there were white ice skates.. made of ice? They felt like it, for they felt cold, slippery, and sleek to the touch. However, they didn't melt but warmed up your feet instead. They appeared to look like ice skates worn by a professional ice-skater, the little butterflies from the heels dotting your new footwear.

"O-Oh. I-I do have them on then… _But how were they on_?"

You slowly tried to stand up, your legs already wobbly in your movement. The blades made every step more slippery in your movement, not entirely fit for walking. It was probably adapted for gliding instead, or whatever movement was required.

"C'mon [_Name_], just stay still for a minute! You won't fall down!" You heard him from the other side of the small pond, his own skates (these ones were made of real brown leather with real metal blades) laced on his feet. Immediately staying still without flinging your arms around, you stopped wobbling and started to skate slowly.

"Yeah, that's it! Push your legs more and keep moving!" He yelled out. Hesitant to follow his advice, you attempted to do what you were told, only to lose half of your balance again. Despite this, you hoisted yourself up like a marionette in multiple timings, controlling your own movements as you skated forward.

"Hehe, you skate funny." Jack merely commented as he glided over to your direction. "At least the ice didn't break."

"Y-Yeah…" Your cheeks flushed cutely yet again as you stammered a tad bit. At least you went across the lake using your eyes this time, unlike that very night.

Resisting the urge to pinch your cheeks or to make swift nips on your nose, he just wrapped his arms around your waist and carried you in, get this, bridal style mode.

"W-What are you doing?!" You squeaked, startled at his sudden action. You felt your cheeks convert from pure pink to pure red and you desperately wanted to hide them with the depths and folds of his jacket and hoodie.

A lovable smirk was curled up in Jack's lips. "You know exactly what I'm doing." To be honest, you actually don't, but you did sense what _might_ happen after he gently set you down on the ice. Then he skated over to the other side and his arms were stretched out. "Skate towards me." He instructed.

"Huh?"

"I said, skate towards me; I wanna try out something."

You swallowed and focused on Jack and his outstretched arms. Whatever he was planning, you don't know, but a small part of you trusted him. With a small push, you skated forwards with more ease this time. Skating, you noted, must be different from walking, for it required pushing and gliding instead. It felt difficult to skate properly at first, but you eventually got the hang of it.

You kept skating and skating, but weren't sure of what to do next. That was, until he shouted the following words,

"OK, NOW JUMP!"

With a sudden jolt, you suddenly sprang over to where he was kneeling. The next thing you knew, you felt Jack holding you by the waist again, but this time hoisting you up in the sky and he spun around as he skated. Everything went faster and faster, making the surroundings blurry. All of a sudden, you started to feel slightly dizzy but Jack kept looking at you with his sparkly blue eyes, which made immediately made the slight sickness go away. The eyes were hard to resist, completely difficult to look away…

Now you were placed on the ground again, but with him holding your hand and spinning you again on the ice. The arm that was holding you extended as he did this. He kept making movements in order to make you follow him. A leap followed before a couple figure eights, a dip, and a few spins took weren't sure what he was doing and why, but doing those things with him somehow made you smile and laugh on the inside. In fact, _everything_ that you do with him made you smile and laugh.

Just when you were about to ask him another question involving the ice-skating, you felt his arms around your waists again, only to- wait, did he just force your body to be in contact with the air?

Your body felt like floating, for you noticed that the pond appeared to look more like a blue spot and the negative space was white. But it didn't last very long as gravity started to pull you down…

"_I_'_m falling_! _I_'_m falling_!" Your mind continuously screamed over and over, as you were heading straight towards the pond. You flailed your arms around and your legs kicked the Earth's atmosphere. Everything sped up and went blurry, the wind whistling harshly in your ears. Shocked, scared, and frightened, you mentally wanted to yell out the words, "_JACK FROST_, _HELP ME~_!".

At first, you thought that nobody heard your mind's screams. But then again, the words didn't burst out from your own lips; people would rather hear yourself speak, not your imagination speaking.

And then it happened: just when you were about to hit the ground, you saw Jack jumping up very high and gathering you into his arms as he landed, the frozen pond never breaking in his feet's contact.

"Caught you~" He sang seductively in your ear, his voice slightly ragged yet husky at the same time. You didn't do anything but to snuggle into the insides of his jacket, thankful for the comfort and safety of land.

"You're not afraid, aren't you?" He then asked, fingering the front strands of your hand for comfort. As much as some of the moves he did earlier made you off-guard, but somehow, skating with him was surprisingly enjoyable nevertheless.

"No, I'm not afraid." You finally answered, tilting your head up in order to look at him. "I like skating."

You heard his laugh chiming at your response. "That's good. But there's something missing…"

A few scattered sounds of metal clinking echoed in the air. You thought that you saw rain falling.. but you were surprised when you spotted that they were actually the diamond pins Katiya and Sinae pinned on your hair. They littered the surface of the ice and the rest of the hair strands flowed out, letting them loose; perhaps he preferred your hair this way, loose and natural with nothing but a few remaining pins clinging onto the strands like a handful of stars.

"Much better." He smirked in your hair. For a while, there was nobody else but you and him.


	35. The Only Thing I Want

"Well~ did Jack like the new outfit we came up with?" Katiya asked the next morning, leaning closer towards your hospital bed.

Hiding half of your face with the pillow, you mumbled out a "Yes. He likes it."

"OMG! I knew that he would enjoy seeing you in that dress!" She squealed in a high-pitched voice, hopping up and down while softly clapping. "My fashion skills must've worked!"

"We helped, too." Eon's voice squeaked out.

"Oh yeah, and the others helped me out." The girly-girl added in.

Squeezing the pillow tighter, you attempted to hide your increasingly pink blush more. "When he saw me last night, he called me beautiful… and stunning. He also kissed this part of my hand." You said as you pointed at the palm of your right hand.

"Wow…. I wish all the guys here would do that to me." Katiya said dreamily, all while looking at Eon, Lucio, and Ivanko in the eye. Catching what her gaze said without words, they nervously backed away, sweatdropping. Sinae, on the other hand, rolled her eyes while reading 'Alice in Wonderland', but secretly wished that someone like Jack would do that to her one day.

* * *

Another day passed by and according to the other nurses, Christmas was growing closer and closer. The other patients would explain to you how this holiday was celebrated and how would they typically enjoy it. They would weave up stories of playing in the snow, decorating the Christmas tree with ornaments, eating turkey and other delights at dinner, watching holiday specials, and opening presents as they received treasure right before their very eyes. You didn't remember doing any of these at Christmas, but they all sounded somewhat familiar in your mind. Those moments all sounded fascinating, as if those memories took place in a fantasy-induced land, rather than reality.

However, one thing that bothered you every time somebody brought up Christmas was how people _spent_ it. Lucio once mentioned that everyone usually celebrates Christmas with family and friends. Here in Sparrow Hospital though, pretty much _EVERYBODY_ were all separated from their own family and friends back home, isolated into the medical prison that locked them away.

He also said that Christmas was usually meant to be a happy celebration, but the conditions you and the others suffered made it a melancholy one. I mean, doesn't everyone here deserve to be reunited with their loved ones for once? Was there a reason why they shouldn't?

* * *

Another thing that made you mentally sad on the inside was that while you get to have the liberty of going outside with Jack, nobody else had the chance. None of the patients, none of the MSU students (although you weren't too sure of them), none of the nurses, and none of the doctors! Heck, even the janitor who cleaned the floors never obtained the chance!

As much as you thought of snow as uniquely pretty, most people still thought of it as deadly and dangerous, as it can cause power outage and road blockage (which rhymed, by the way..). But that didn't fool you, for you sensed the urges they carried; the hidden desires of playing in the snow, the harboured cravings of snowflakes on their tongues, and the thoughts of building snowmen, battling with snowballs at a snowball fight, or racing others with their toboggans. You could tell that all of these would be stuck on their minds, since you felt the same way as them.

But why can't they be free?

Why can't they play outside like you do?

_Why_, _why_, _why_?

* * *

"Hey [_Name_], are you busy at the moment?" A voice suddenly interrupted your reverie as you blinked in surprised. It came from Alis, who was visiting you and the others in the Children's Ward again.

"Uh… no? Why?" You asked in curiousity, your eyes straying away from the blank window (it wasn't covered in frost today).

"I'm just wondering…" Alis smiled as she placed a heart-covered lap desk, a pencil, an eraser, a few sheets of lace-embossed paper, an envelope, a sheet of beautiful stickers, and a stamp with the American flag. "Have you wrote your letter to Santa yet?"

"…I didn't think about it." You found yourself saying; can you _actually_ write a letter to him? You'd never thought it would be possible. "Will he write back?"

"Of course, [_Name_]. If he has time, then he'll reply back."

"And can I tell him whatever I wanted?"

"Yes, you can. As long as he can grant it." As Alis took out a light blue sheet of that lace-embossed paper as well as the pencil and eraser, she paused for a moment to think before asking, "[_Name_], do you remember how to write?"

"…" Now that she mentioned it, flashes of you struggling to write words and letters appeared in your head; one time, one of the doctors brought out a sheet of notebook paper, asking if you can write anything that you can remember. You did remember how to read, but not exactly how to write, for the words you wanted on the paper transformed into sloppy scribbles. You felt embarrassed about it afterwards.

"No. Not really." You finally confessed, sighing. "There's things I wanna say, but I can't write them in…"

"Don't worry about it! I'll help you!" The university student gently held your hand, her thumb rubbing circles on the skin. Then she grabbed the pencil with her other hand and said with a smile, "What do you think you should write?"

* * *

"_Jack_! _I want to see you now_!"

_Yawning quite loudly_, _Jack opened one blue eye to find that North_, _also known as Santa Claus to the world_, _summoned him to the workshop_, _where the Guardian of Wonder was desperately trying to answer letters and to build prototypes at the same time_. _Despite his sleepiness_ (_the ice_-_skating wore him out_), _he immediately went over to see him_.

"_What is it_?" _Jack asked sleepily_, _rubbing his eyes and trying _(_but failing_) _to stifle out a yawn_. "_I was_- *_yawn_* _trying to sleep here._"

"_I know_, _I know_. _I wouldn_'_t call you or the other Guardians here unless there is real emergency_." _North said as he dug through a sack of some of the letters addressed to him_. "_But you must read this_." _He handed Jack one of the letters_, _which had the name and address written on red and green crayons and sealed with a snowman sticker. He recognized Sparrow Hospital_, _Lansing_, _and Michigan in there_, _but not the person who sent it. As he opened the letter_, _he now realized that the way it was written sounded familiar_…

**Dear Santa Claus,**

**This is my first time writing to you, although my friend Alis is helping me. She told me that I am a fast learner. **

**Do you actually grant what the person wants as a gift for Christmas? This is my wish for this year:**

**I wish that every patient, doctor, and nurse in Sparrow Hospital would be free from that place. I want them to go outside and play in the snow. Just like me. They all look sad in there day by day. No one feels happy. Christmas is supposed to be happy, but it doesn't feel like it to them. I want them to smile and to be healthy; staying inside makes the health and pain worse. I feel sorry for them every day. Can you help them? Please?**

**From,**

**[**_**Name**_**]**

_Jack was definitely surprised_; _YOU actually wished for that this year_? _At first he expected you to have your eye on a new toy or a book you wanted_, _but considering what you wrote in the letter_, _you were probably less selfish than that. Besides_, _not all people were arrogant._

_He hated to admit it_, _but sometimes seeing the patients_, _doctors_, _and nurses in the hospital made him think that they don_'_t know how to have fun around there. However_, _after reading your simple yet honest words_, _he started to rethink what he thought about them_; _maybe they DO look sad from being stuck in that place for so long. Whether they were working or trying to recover_, _every day was a dull snow day. Not a fun snow day._

"_North_," _He suddenly said. _"_if you want me to give this gift to her for you_, _then I_'_ll do it._" _The question was how_...? _Without saying another word_, _he left._


	36. Paranormal Activity?

_Before Jack could start figuring out how to lure the patients_, _doctors_, _and nurses out_, _however_, _something was still bothering him in his mind again._

_He still can_'_t figure out how you managed to see him or if you actually believed in him_.

_He also can_'_t help but to wonder if the other patients in the Children_'_s Ward or any other hospital room also believed in his existence. I mean_, _he may not care less_, _but when he had to deal with an amnesiac believer_, _this was something the other Guardians never really thought about. They never really mentioned what happened_ _to belief and faith during memory loss. He assumed that while some would loose theirs immediately due to having a new persona or forced personality change_, _maybe the belief was still contained in their minds and hearts somehow. But those were_… _locked up and fading away. Even so_, _he was willing to figure out the truth behind his theory._

_Right now though_, _he might as well test you and the other patients_ _first_… _he wanted to watch your reactions the most._

* * *

Everybody was bored today. You were so bored that you often drew doodles on the glass of the currently non-frosted window. Drawing on windows felt completely different from drawing on paper, for the pictures didn't require pencils, crayons, markers, or pencil crayons; instead, they were born by your hot breath and your fingertips as you created what was on your mind. Every few minutes, you would draw from hearts to snowflakes, from rockets that flew to the moon and mermaids that swam in every ocean of the world.

As of now, you were about to play tic-tac-toe with yourself. Tic-tac-toe was a game Eon taught you, where you set up a 3x3 board with nine small squares inside and try to match either the Xs or Os horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, blocking the opponent in the process. You originally wanted to play it with one of the other patients, since they were also bored to death, but it seemed that they didn't want to.

Sighing absentmindedly, you prepared the board and decided to use both Xs and Os due to the fact you were playing alone. You started with an X on the top-left corner, almost falling asleep as you did so. At least you didn't as you saw an O drawn in the square from the center-row. This went on for a while, with you as the X and… whoever was the O.

The O must've won, for there were three Os placed diagonally from top right to bottom left. Paying attention that time due to the loss, your eyes widened at the words that was now written:

**I WIN.**

This unexpected turn of events _would_'_ve _been shocking if it wasn't for what happened after that to _them_.

"GYAHHH~! What the hell?!" Came Katiya's shriek. You sweatdropped; did one of Katiya's designer clothes got shredded or stained?

As it turned out, you later realized, that wasn't it. Before you ask her what happened, however, the window suddenly opened and an icy wind blasted your face, causing you to fall down in shock. Then came Lucio's voice, saying, "Hey~ isn't it cold here?"

You flinched and shivered at the cold air; Lucio was right, it _does_ feel chilly in the ward. In fact, maybe the entire atmosphere was full of freezing air today. In an attempt to stay warm, you gathered up all the remaining folds of your hospital gown and wrapped them around your exposed skin like a chrysalis. Everyone else did the same, but with their blankets (and jackets, in Katiya's case).

The panes kept opening and closing, the furniture started to shake, and a few medicine bottles dropped to the floor. Wind kept whistling harsh tunes and snowflakes blurred the vision as they swarmed around heads. The entire ward looked as if an earthquake was about to tear the room to shreds. You suddenly felt too scared, too nervous, too paralyzed at the paranormal events taking place…

"_Hey there_~"

The six of you all jumped at the unexpected voice chiming out of nowhere, huddling each other at the same time.

"W-W-Who's there?" Sinae tried to say, her voice starting to fail her.

"_The spirit of winter himself_!"

"…" For a while, there was no reply. The snow was still singing loudly and every furniture and window shook and rattled in the wind's wrath, but you and the others said nothing. Nothing at all. In fact, the first thing that was visualized in everyone else's minds were 'I have no comment'. Yours, on the other hand, didn't come up with anything.

"Alright, who left the window open?!" A voice rang out. You turned to find not the so-called 'spirit of winter', but a nurse instead (this one wore glasses with thick black frames). Realizing that the other patients were still in a trance, all you could was to shrug before hopping back into bed. Against your mind's will, however, you were still thinking about the mysterious visitor in the Children's Ward.

Who was this 'spirit of winter' anyway?


	37. The Staff

The Children's Ward now appeared to be a wreck, due to the supernatural incident that took place moments ago. Papers were strewn around on the floor, toys and books covered the floor, and equipment from needles to IVs was either tangled up or littered the nearby areas of hospital beds. You had to help the other patients and the nurse clean up the place and to lock up the windows. Later at night, the 'spirit of winter' did not interfere again, much to everyone else's relief, but another event shifted your fate instead. Hearing a small clatter whizzing to your direction from the ceiling, you looked down to see what dropped down to the floor.

A wooden staff, slightly gnarled up and dusted with electric blue powder, with the end curved up into a **G** or a **C**, was lying on the floor.

* * *

You took some time to observe it after moments of waking up. It felt cold to the touch, but did not freeze or harm you at second's grasp. Your mind supplied yourself with theories of this strange stick-like object ended up here, but they only seemed to confuse you further and further.

But where did it come from? Why was it here? Did somebody left it here? Whose was it? Was it deadly?

Every question your mind formulated only tainted with sleepiness inside your mentality, every assumption making your eyes close slowly.

The only thing that had stopped you from falling asleep again was the sharp chill that was sent to your body, which was transferred from your staff to your arm, to your chest and up towards your head. You groaned, realizing that it was now too difficult to think properly. Stowing the staff to the dark depths below your hospital bed, you decided to wash up in the bathroom before figuring out what to do next.

* * *

_Jack_'_s first attempt was not working_, _as it only scared you and the other patients into oblivion_. _But that was not what he expected_; _he did not want you to be scared of him_. _He only wanted to show you who he really was_, _but obviously_, _he went overboard with the first plan. A little TOO overboard. If that sort of thing would keep up again_, _he might as well end up as the next boogeyman_/_Pitch Black II_. _How will he try to convince you now before granting your wish...?_

_Jack was about to create a flurry of snow that he planned to cover up the streets of Amsterdam_, _Netherlands_, _when he realized that he actually forgot something_...

"_Damn it_." _He muttered before delaying his snow day duties for a moment to look for a certain possession of his_…


	38. Missing Staff and Missing Jack

How long had it been after examining the staff last time? Four hours? Five? You weren't exactly sure, but it certainly took up the entire morning to try to guess its appearance without exposure.

It was difficult, trying to hide the staff under your hospital bed without anybody noticing. At one point, a janitor (you recently learned that a janitor is a person who cleans up the floors in the hospital) tried to wipe the floors under the iron-framed bed, you were afraid of him finding the staff and throwing it away. In a desperate attempt to make the janitor go away, you ended up exclaiming that he shouldn't clean there, as you told him that there was a carnivorous fire-breathing dragon (a creature you learned from a book) that will eat him if he doesn't stay away from the bed. That resulted in a cowardly janitor who left his mop behind after running away.

Considering your actions, however, they were probably harsh. You didn't mean to make him this scared; you only wanted to protect the staff from greedy eyes. Even so, you just hoped that you wouldn't end up in the naughty list as part of your consequences (the naughty list, according to one of the nurses, records the names of naughty, misbehaved, and evil people; Santa Claus was the owner of this list and he would determine who gets presents or coal) and receiving coal… or something worse.

But then again, you had probably gone through worse back then.

…..Did you?

* * *

Now that you thought about it, you weren't sure what happened to Jack. You didn't see him very much recently, which to you, was very, very strange. No sign of his silvery white hair, no intense ice-blue eyes, no frost-covered hoodie. You craved for his cold touches, his kind and reassuring words, and his company, but still, he didn't show up.

Where was he?

* * *

_After a couple days of searching_, _Jack STILL couldn_'_t find his staff_. _This kind of situation was very rare_, _as he always had his staff by his side for about 300 years and he never lost it. IN HIS LIFE. Well_…. _maybe he misplaced it a few times_, _but he always found it after a few minutes of quick searching_. _But this was probably the first time he had never had it in a very long period. Well_, _he_'_d_ _been through longer_, _but still_. _WHERE THE HELL IS THAT STAFF_?!

_Jack had to stop by at Edinburgh_, _Scotland_ _in order to take a break from finding the staff. Sitting on top of a sharp_-_looking cliff somewhere_, _he tried his very best to stay calm and not to cause a deadly blizzard there. But he found this difficult than it should_'_ve been. Even as he breathed in_, _breathed out_…

_Without the staff_, _he wouldn_'_t be able to create those snow days. No more ice_, _no more snow_, _no more frost_, _no more fun and games_, _no more pranks_-

_Wait a minute_, _that would mean_…

…._How will he deliver that special snow day to you and those kids in Sparrow Hospital now_?!

_Although Jack was mentally panicking right now, both in the ground and the air_, _he attempted to remain as calm as possible as he struggled to think properly_. _After all_, _he must take action as soon as possible and_-

…

…

…

_He can create winter without his staff, can he_?


End file.
